When was it I realized that, on this truly dark and solitary path we all walk, the only way we can light is our own? Although I was raised with love, I was always lonely.
Someday, without fail, everyone will disappear, scattered into the blackness of time.
Life is not kind to Mikage. Whilst still at university, she finds herself alone in this world, when her last remaining relative, her grandmother, passes away.
Yuichi is attending the same university as Mikage. He knew Mikage’s grandmother, who used to come to the flower shop, where he is working. Yuichi and his mother Eriko offers Mikage to come and stay with them, while she gets back on her feet. That is the summer Mikage teaches herself to cook.
Yuichi and Eriko both have their fair share of things to deal with, but the three of them support each other and over the summer of living together, they build some kind of temporary normality, in which they all find comfort.
Kitchen is a novella of just 100 pages. Within these few pages Yoshimoto tells a beautiful story about dealing with bereavement, finding hope, love, being yourself and supporting others. The story is filled with sadness and sorrow, but overall it left me feeling hopeful.
Throughout the novella I was transported to a different state of mind filled with melancholy and beauty in an almost other-worldly sense. I don’t know why, but it seems that Japanese authors often have that effect on me.
Mikage, Yuichi and Eriko were lovely and engaging characters and they all walked right into my heart without even trying. Eriko, in particular, was an interesting and colourful personality with some insightful views on life.
Banana Yoshimoto is clearly a talented writer. Kitchen was her debut and I found it impressive how she in such a short story with relatively sparse dialogue conveys the relationship between the main characters and makes it more meaningful than some writers manage to do over hundreds of pages.
The place I like best in this world is the kitchen. No matter where it is, no matter what kind, if it’s a kitchen, if it’s a place where they make food, it’s fine with me.
I loved how Mikage used cooking and the kitchen to work through her sorrow and to express her feelings. The Tokyo setting and the description of the mouth-watering dishes were an extra bonus, which added atmosphere to the story.
Kitchen proves that novellas can be exceedingly impactful. I won’t forget this one in a hurry.
Title: Kitchen [1988] Author: Banana Yoshimoto Format: Paperback Genre: Japanese Fiction
Great review. Sounds really good.
Thanks, I can definitely recommend!
Great review! I enjoyed this one as well and certain parts have really stayed with me.
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it as well!
Lovely review! Heard of the author, not tried her yet 🙂
Thanks, Kitchen was my first book from this author, but I doubt it will be the last 😀
I think other-worldly is the perfect word to describe books by phenomenal Japanese authors. I love the this novella was able to be both sad and beautiful at the same time. Great review! 🙂
Yes, I wonder if that is something Japanese authors are particularly good at? Or just a coincidence? In any case, I can’t seem to get enough of it 🙂 . Thanks!
Wow, Stargazer, this sounds like my kind of book. I love that it’s a novella and still packed a punch and wow, the cooking stuff too! Wonderful review!
I really think, you would enjoy it! And yes, I love it too when an author manages to say a lot in relatively few pages – the opposite can be quite annoying 😉 Thanks!
Great review! I recognize the Japanese effect you talk about 🙂
Thanks! Yes, there is something about these Japanese authors. Don’t know what it is, but I am ready for more! 🙂
Sounds great! I’m often baffled by Japanese authors – they seem to think in an entirely different way to us in the West. I enjoy them though. I suddenly wondered while reading your review if the difference is that they’re rather nicer to their characters than our authors tend to be. Even in crime novels, they often try to understand the motivations of the villain rather than just making them a straight baddie…
One day when I have read a lot more Japanese literature, I would love to try putting into words, why I like some of these authors so much. I definitely think some of it relates to the characters. And the melancholy. And the aesthetics. And the way I get transported into a different world when I open the book. But no, the fact is, I can’t really explain it.
Great review! I have read this before and loved it, and I’ve also enjoyed Goodbye Tsugumi and Lizard, her short story collection. You’re right about Japanese authors—I also love them because the melancholy and the beauty go so well together (and with my own temperament, lol).
Thanks, I definitely want to read more of this author. Goodbye Tsugumi sounds like a good suggestion. Absolutely, I think my own temperament makes me inclined to enjoy these introspective and somewhat melancholic stories. 🙂
Great that this transported you and was so meaningful in such a short space!
I love when an author produces a powerful story in relatively few pages!
Hooray I’m so glad you loved this book!! What’s funny is that I remember 5-starring and adoring it years ago and but have almost completely forgotten everything about it. Which is probably a good thing since it will be all fresh and new when I re-read it and be able to serve a good purpose all over again. Books about bereavement that are uplifting seem far and few between. Anyway, fantastic review.
It really is a 5-star read! I am almost envious that you have forgotten the story. It must be so nice to enjoy it all over again, like it was the first read. The treatment of bereavement was very well handled. I found the tone poignant and melancholic and yet it was still hopeful and uplifting. Thanks! 😀
Sorry for my delayed response. I loved this book when I read it. I’m intrigued by how many Japanese novels I’ve read are about loneliness, and about how ”family” is often formed out of strangers and/or acquaintances. It’s quite heart-warming really.
No need to apologise. I saw about your mother and I’m so sorry for your loss. Hope you are doing alright given the circumstances. It’s interesting what you say about Japanese novels and loneliness. I wonder why that is? Perhaps, it is more pronounced in the Japanese society? It’s lovely how “families” can be formed from your circle of acquaintances. I really like that idea.