The book has a high re-readability factor. Food is important in the story just as it revolved around her job. After reading the afterword I felt even more bliss that she wrote a thank you to her coworkers but it was also in a restaurant she worked as a waitress in. Tokuji Kakinuma, for kindly turning a blind eye when I neglected my duties to write at work, as well as my fellow workers…” (p 152). I sometimes think that an author’s life should be separate from publicizing their works but I felt drawn to Banana Yoshimoto who, according to her afterword, thanked “Mr. Because the characters are not your usual “Leave it to Beaver” types (housewife mother, businessman father, dainty daughter, athletic son, etc.), I devoured the details. The short novel is a quick read, very tightly woven, and kept my attention riveted towards the end. I felt there is a happy yet bittersweet ending but you’ll just have to read and see for yourself. Happiness in my definition here means that she is content with life and what she is doing (isn’t that what we all want?) The ending is up to the imagination of the reader. Through her love of the kitchen, she has a spirit that is different from others which leads her to a different path and to eventual happiness. Our narrator, Mikage Sakurai, loves the kitchen and would find herself sleeping in the kitchen for comfort. So what is it about “Kitchen” that makes it so emotional? The short novel is no more than 105 pages long (if you count “Moonlight Shadow” or sometimes known as “Kitchen: Part 2”) around 150 pages long (Grove Press, 1993 publication).

Banana yoshimoto's kitchen