Kitchen
Book description
Kitchen juxtaposes two tales about mothers, transsexuality, bereavement, kitchens, love and tragedy in contemporary Japan. It is a startlingly original first work by Japan's brightest young literary star and is now a cult film.
When Kitchen was first published in Japan in 1987 it won two of Japan's most prestigious…
Why read it?
2 authors picked Kitchen as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Bereavement isn't always a burden we need to carry; at times, we just have to accommodate it within our routine and let it carve out a space in our hearts and minds.
Banana Yoshimoto's book led me towards this epiphany through a cast of characters who wage a daily battle on their overpowering grief. I enjoyed the two novellas in this book because they reminded me that the comfort we find in others is often the antidote to the earth-shattering pain and loneliness accompanying loss.
From Taha's list on cope with death and grief.
Kitchen is an utterly charming short novel by a modern writer whose protagonist, Mikage, is a young woman who must find a way to carry on after the death of her beloved grandmother who served as her sole caregiver-guardian. Her voice engages immediately: “The place I like best in this world is the kitchen.” Orphaned amidst the bustling world around her, Mikage hesitatingly accepts an invitation to move in with Yuichi, a boy who’d worked part-time in her grandmother’s flower shop. His situation is also unusual, as he lives with his trans mother—an elegant woman who actually is his biological…
From Marian's list on a sweet journey into Japan.
Want books like Kitchen?
Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Kitchen.