Review: Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto

Title: Kitchen

Author: Banana Yoshimoto

Publisher: Grove Press

Date of Publication: 2006 (first published 1988)

Number of Pages: 152

Summary

Banana Yoshimoto's novels have made her a sensation in Japan and all over the world, and Kitchen, the dazzling English-language debut that is still her best-loved book, is an enchantingly original and deeply affecting book 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 of Kitchen, is an orphan raised by her grandmother, who has passed away. Grieving, she is taken in by her friend Yoichi and his mother (who was once his father), Eriko. As the three of them form an improvised family that soon weathers its own tragic losses, Yoshimoto spins a lovely, evocative tale that recalls early Marguerite Duras. Kitchen and its companion story, "Moonlight Shadow," are elegant tales whose seeming simplicity is the ruse of a writer whose voice echoes in the mind and the soul.

Review

How can such short stories be filled with so much emotion? This was the first thought that came to mind when I finished reading Kitchen and indeed this book was an emotional rollercoaster. Both of the stories were deeply touching and heartfelt, although they were short and concise.

Kitchen, the first and longest story included in the publication, is about a young woman named Mikage, who has lost her grandmother. She struggles to get over the grief, but it's too difficult for her because she's left alone in the world, without another blood relation. But she finds hope when she moves in with a young friend of his grandmother, Yuichi, and his mother Eriko. After that she slowly gets closer to both of them, she finds a job and a new apartment. When tragedy comes to Yuichi she has to make an important decision if she will stand beside him or let him deal with it alone. 

In its core Kitchen is a love story, although death and loss and how to go on living after such a difficult situation are present all the time. But there is not a great dramatic gesture or a confession, or even sweet loving words. The feelings develop under the surface and the understanding comes from little gestures, like sometimes happens in real life. Sometimes to bring a takeout is enough, in order to convey the feeling of wanting to be together even if everything is so uncertain.

While Mikage is dreaming she has a deep conversation with Yuichi and they end up singing the above song. A simple act and a simple dream, but the next morning she learns that Yuichi himself had the same dream and their conversation was real in a telepathetic kind of way. It's fascinating to see how at home they feel with each other, even though they are in tough situations.

Mikage, Yuichi and Eriko are all likable characters. Although this isn't a novel in order to get to know their personalities very well, there is a deep connection with them. Their loneliness is profound and their thoughts on death are the ones that move them. They all had terrible losses and that's the reason why they can truly feel alive. Eriko is the most perplex character, as a transgender her life has been complicated. When she was a man she had met her true love, Yuichi's mother, but when she lost her she decided that she didn't want to be a man anymore. When Mikage meets her, she is a woman that always tries to achieve the things that she wants and is making everyone feel happy with her positive aura.

Moonlight Shadow as the author informs us was inspired by the song of Mike Oldfield with the same title. The theme is similar to that of the one in Kitchen. But, what is more important in this story is closure, a chance to say a proper goodbye to the loved ones you have lost. Indeed, Satsuki has lost her boyfriend in an accident and she barely deals with the fact. One day she meets a mysterious woman, who invites her to a peculiar phenomenon. The last time ever she saw him/ Carried away by a moonlight shadow and how much do regrets hurt. If only she had talked to him and told him not to go as he walked away, he would still be alive. But his back fading in the mist is her last image of her boyfriend and that peculiar phenomenon lets her say goodbye to him in that very spot. If she manages to ever let go we don't learn, but now we feel that the possibility is there.  

Kitchen is a book that touched me, made me cry and feel hope at the same time. It's highly recommended to anyone who is in for an emotional read. 

So, my advice is...

A lighthouse in the distance

To the two of us in the night

The spinning light looks like

Sunshine through the branches of trees