This book contains two wonderful stories. Many authors try to tackle the subject of losing a loved one, but often focus in on one emotion that arises and block out everything else. Both stories (especially the eponymous tale) do an amazing job of running through all the emotions that can come into one's mind after losing a loved one. If you're going through tough times, this is THE novel I would recommend reading.

---

This small slim volume is delicious! It’s a joy to read. Large easy to read font packed in a tiny package! I was overjoyed! Sometimes small books require microscopes to read. No spoilers! This book is a winner! A must have for your library. Yes! I have quite the collection of books. This particular title drew me in from page one!

---

I've seen some reviews that say the book seems childish, but I have to disagree. Simplicity can be exactly right and I think in this situation it worked perfectly. Yoshimoto creates a story filled with beautiful metaphors and musings on life after you lose someone close to you. This version actually includes two stories, not one, the first of which is called "Kitchen."

"Kitchen" follows a young woman after the death of her grandmother as she tries to find happiness and direction again. The writing is simple and at times short, but it seems fitting to someone who is grieving and gave the narrator an even stronger voice. I found the narrators love of kitchens especially charming and real. The thoughts and actions of the characters seemed so relatable and normal, like things I would do and say in the same situation.

I found the second story "Moonlight Shadow" to be even more touching and graceful. I underlined a good portion of the end, saving it up for my own purposes because the writing was that striking. In this story, Yoshimoto writes about a girl who has lost her boyfriend and thinks back on their memories as she tries to keep living.

I'd highly recommend this book. It was an easy read, done in a day, but the content was enough to keep me thinking far longer than that.

---

I've started to read and it's hard to do my housework !
Housework will have too wait ..

---

Not nearly as good as the reviews say. The KBB (Knitted Beanie Birgade) squeals in well-orchestrated, BLM-sanctioned delight purely because there is a trans character. You've heard of identity politics, welcome to "identity literary reviews."

---

I especially loved the first novella, "Kitchen", and pairing it with "Moonlight Shadow" made this a lovely volume that I will share with friends dealing with grief.

---

Wow. Amazing. I read this in less than 3 hours and cried many times. It sums up feelings of grief and confusion perfectly and you can't help but fall in love with the characters.

---

Yoshimoto has a minimalist, haiku-like prose style in this, her first novel. "Kitchen" is charmingly simple and yet touches the depths of human suffering as well as stirring in a few cups of joyous experience. Mikage Sakurai loves kitchens and has lost the last of her family. From there embark into this most excellent novel and when you turn the last page of "Kitchen", the urge to start again at page one, to keep contact with these characters, simmers inside you.... "The place I like best in this world is the kitchen." Appended at the end of the novel "Kitchen", like a mint after a fine meal, is the short story "Moonlight Shadow". This is a nice story, but it is not of the same calibre as "Kitchen". In "Kitchen", Yoshimoto provides a recipe for fresh air in the often staid literary world.

---

Mikage, the heroine of Banana Yoshimoto's novella 'Kitchen' is an orphan who, since the death of her parents, has been cared for by her grandmother, who lives in a large apartment with a very comfortable and comforting kitchen. When her grandmother sadly dies, Mikage finds solace by taking her bed into the kitchen and sleeping next to the old refrigerator with its reassuring hum. Mikage knows she can't continue to spend her days and nights ensconced in the comfort of her grandmother's kitchen, but she can't seem to find the energy to move her life forward; therefore when an acquaintance of hers, a young man named Yuichi Tanabe, offers her a home with him and his very glamorous mother, Eriko, in their well-appointed apartment, Mikage finds herself agreeing - and when she arrives at the Tanabes' home and falls immediately in love with their kitchen, she knows she has come to the right place.

As Mikage gets to know Yuichi better, she realises he is a more interesting and unusual young man than she first thought, but Yuichi's mother (who, before her sex change, was his father) is an even more unusual individual. However both Yuichi and Eriko make Mikage feel welcomed and wanted, and slowly, as she spends more time with the Tanabes, Mikage begins to cope with the loss of her beloved grandmother. But then something happens to Eriko that changes the dynamics of Mikage and Yuichi's relationship - however is this a change for the better or worse for our two protagonists?

First-person narrated by Mikage, this is an unusual and off-beat story, written in a charming, idiosyncratic style which, in places, has passages which seem almost dreamlike. One to read and enjoy in one sitting (this is more novella than novel) and then possibly to put back on the bookshelf to experience again when you feel the need for something a little different.

4 Stars.

---

Wonderful writing. Two short minimalist stories that are hard to read quickly because the ideas and emotions are complex, but the prose deceptively simple. Wabi-sabi of literature, it holds up damaged lives and finds beauty in the the breaks in a meditative way. Recommend

---

Having recently visited Tokyo, I set upon finding a translated text by a Japanese author that was set in the country I'd quickly fallen in love with, and was not disappointed. "Kitchen" was an effortless, stunning read, showcasing timeless writing. I know that I will read this gem again and again.

---

Great book that explores the different ways people cope with loss and grieving. The book arrived in good condition and I definitely would recommend anyone to read this little insightful book!

---

A surprising and sensitive tale that defies speed reading and packs a punch in every word. An apparently slight text that will keep you thinking well after you have read the final word.