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hannahmarierobbins 's review for:
Kitchen
by Banana Yoshimoto
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is a bind-up of two short stories written by Japanese author, Banana Yoshimoto. I’ll be honest that I bought the book entirely for the cover and then, for the title, because I love cooking, eating and food writing.
- Kitchen, the first short story, is an emotional depiction of the relationship between two people navigating the loss of a special person. It begins with two absolutely poetic paragraphs about the joy of kitchens and carries on to think about parental love, friendship, and the magic of food made by a person who loves to cook. It’s subtle and sad and sweet. First published in 1988, there are descriptions of transition and gender identity that may feel out of date to us reading it in 2022. However, the representation of the trans character is beautiful. She shines through the story. It’s very intimate. Content note, but plot spoiler: there is brief discussion of transphobia and a hate crime.
- Midnight Shadow presents two people in the aftermath of bereavement trying to find peace while grappling with terrible pain. They care for each other and find solace and sadness in different ways. The main protagonist is drawn repeatedly to a bridge on her runs and the story follows her interactions with a woman she meets there.