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"Ms. Yoshimoto's writing is lucid, earnest and disarming. ... [It] seizes hold of the reader's sympathy and refuses to let go." -Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

With the publication of Kitchen, the dazzling English-language debut that is still her best-loved book, the literary world realized that Yoshimoto was a young writer of enduring talent whose work has quickly earned a place among the best of contemporary Japanese literature. Kitchen is an enchantingly original book that juxtaposes two tales about mothers, love, tragedy, and the power of the kitchen and home in the lives of a pair of free-spirited young women in contemporary Japan. Mikage, the heroine, is an orphan raised by her grandmother, who has passed away. Grieving, Mikage is taken in by her friend Yoichi and his mother (who is really his cross-dressing father) Eriko. As the three of them form an improvised family that soon weathers its own tragic losses, Yoshimoto spins a lovely, evocative tale with the kitchen and the comforts of home at its heart.

In a whimsical style that recalls the early Marguerite Duras, "Kitchen" and its companion story, "Moonlight Shadow," are elegant tales whose seeming simplicity is the ruse of a very special writer whose voice echoes in the mind and the soul.

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160 pages

Average rating: 6.9

42 RATINGS

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1 REVIEW

Community Reviews

thenextgoodread
Jan 30, 2023
8/10 stars
Took me a while to warm up to this book because like many books written by Japanese authors, the story's odd and otherworldly despite being mundane. But, like many Japanese works, it soon unfolded its magic. Surreal, almost ethereal, and melancholic, the tragedy (or rather, tragedies) of Kitchen (and its companion story, Moonlight Shadow) slowly pierced me. Written in prose that alternates between gentle and sharp but often beautiful, this book painted grief in its painful and confusing reality. And yet it also warmed my heart. And just when I was already feeling hopeful for the characters, it ended, leaving me wanting. But maybe that's how it's supposed to be -- me, in the future, finding myself wondering about Mikage, Yuichi, Satsuki, and Hiiragi and how their lives have turned out. And when a book makes you feel things and wonder (and wander) far beyond what has been written, I say that's a good book.

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