Kitchen

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(as of Apr 24, 2026 03:00:45 UTC – Details)

“Ms. Yoshimoto’s writing is lucid, earnest and disarming. . . . [It] seizes hold of the reader’s sympathy and refuses to let go.” —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

An orphan finds comfort in the kitchen, and in her chosen family, in this classic of contemporary Japanese literature

With the publication of Kitchen, the dazzling English-language debut that is still her best-loved book, the literary world realized that Yoshimoto was a young writer of enduring talent whose work has quickly earned a place among the best of contemporary Japanese literature. Kitchen is an enchantingly original book that juxtaposes two tales 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, is an orphan raised by her grandmother, who has passed away. Grieving, Mikage is taken in by her friend Yoichi and his mother (who is really his cross-dressing father) Eriko. As the three of them form an improvised family that soon weathers its own tragic losses, Yoshimoto spins a lovely, evocative tale with the kitchen and the comforts of home at its heart.

In a whimsical style that recalls the early Marguerite Duras, “Kitchen” and its companion story, “Moonlight Shadow,” are elegant tales whose seeming simplicity is the ruse of a very special writer whose voice echoes in the mind and the soul.

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Customer Reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars 72

4.4 out of 5 stars 233

4.6 out of 5 stars 78

4.5 out of 5 stars 62

4.2 out of 5 stars 427

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“Banana Yoshimoto is a clear genius.”—San Francisco Chronicle “Taken together, these two novellas form a sparkling book.” –Washington Post “Yoshimoto shouldn’t be shy about basking in her celebrity. Her achievements are already legend.” —Boston Globe “[An] ethereally mesmerizing . . . novel of Japan’s Generation X.” —Chicago Sun-Times “A rollicking good read.” –O Magazine

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Grove Press
Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 17, 2006
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 160 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0802142443
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0802142443
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 0.5 x 7.25 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #24,633 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #194 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction #439 in Psychological Fiction (Books) #1,166 in Literary Fiction (Books)
Customer Reviews: 4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars (3,244) var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });