Title: Kitchen (キッチン)
Author: Banana Yoshimoto
(Includes the novella entitled Moonlight Shadow)
The book consists of 3 parts, with the first 2 parts, Kitchen and Full Moon, as one tale, and Moonlight Shadow as another tale.
In the first tale, Mikage, a young woman, struggles to deal with the grief of losing her grandmother. After her passing, she moves in with her grandmother's friend from the florist, Yuichi, and his transgender mother, Eriko. Eventually, she grows closer to them, and becomes part of their family. Soon after, she finds a new job as a culinary teacher's assistant, and has to move out.
Things turn for the worse when Eriko died. She tried to support Yuichi, just like they did when she first moved in with them. Both got closer, feeling developed, but Mikage was reluctant to face her feelings in this time of grief. She goes away once again for work, chance upon a restaurant serving delicious katsudon, and decides to bring it to him.
And yes, the description of the said katsudon made me craved for one.
"Good quality meat, excellent broth, the eggs and onions handles beautifully, the rice with just the right degree of firmness to hold up the broth-it was flawless."
In the second tale, Moonlight Shadow, Satsuki loses her boyfriend, Hitoshi, in an accident. She deals with grief by doing things out of the ordinary for her, going for late night walks and early morning runs. On one of her sleepless morning out, she meets Urara, a strange woman, on the same bridge she and Hitoshi last saw each other on. Urara introduces her a mystical experience, termed "The Weaver Festival Phenomenon", in hopes that she too, will be able to overcome their collective grief.
Both stories explore the nature of loneliness, the pain of losing someone and how each deal with grief in their own way, with the help of healing companionship.
There's something about reading translated works of Japanese authors, the language used most of the time is simple, yet narrative, and implying full depth of meaning with just a few simple words.
Here are my favourite moments and quotes from both tales.
*Side note:
Author: Banana Yoshimoto
(Includes the novella entitled Moonlight Shadow)
The book consists of 3 parts, with the first 2 parts, Kitchen and Full Moon, as one tale, and Moonlight Shadow as another tale.
In the first tale, Mikage, a young woman, struggles to deal with the grief of losing her grandmother. After her passing, she moves in with her grandmother's friend from the florist, Yuichi, and his transgender mother, Eriko. Eventually, she grows closer to them, and becomes part of their family. Soon after, she finds a new job as a culinary teacher's assistant, and has to move out.
Things turn for the worse when Eriko died. She tried to support Yuichi, just like they did when she first moved in with them. Both got closer, feeling developed, but Mikage was reluctant to face her feelings in this time of grief. She goes away once again for work, chance upon a restaurant serving delicious katsudon, and decides to bring it to him.
And yes, the description of the said katsudon made me craved for one.
"Good quality meat, excellent broth, the eggs and onions handles beautifully, the rice with just the right degree of firmness to hold up the broth-it was flawless."
In the second tale, Moonlight Shadow, Satsuki loses her boyfriend, Hitoshi, in an accident. She deals with grief by doing things out of the ordinary for her, going for late night walks and early morning runs. On one of her sleepless morning out, she meets Urara, a strange woman, on the same bridge she and Hitoshi last saw each other on. Urara introduces her a mystical experience, termed "The Weaver Festival Phenomenon", in hopes that she too, will be able to overcome their collective grief.
Both stories explore the nature of loneliness, the pain of losing someone and how each deal with grief in their own way, with the help of healing companionship.
There's something about reading translated works of Japanese authors, the language used most of the time is simple, yet narrative, and implying full depth of meaning with just a few simple words.
Here are my favourite moments and quotes from both tales.
"To the extent that I had come to understand that despair does not necessarily result in annihilation, that one can go on as usual in spite of it, I had become hardened. Was that what it means to be an adult, to live with ugly ambiguities? I didn't like it, but it made it easier to go on."
- Kitchen
"The pretty scene was brimming with life, but my soul was pinning for the desolate streets of winter."
- Moonlight ShadowNot the most happy quotes, but the truths of them hits me hard.
*Side note:
Instead of just ranting like I would usually do, I decided to do something more...sophisticated?
How hard is it to write a book review?
I mean, I have done a lot of book reviews in the past, as a kid, just to attain a "good reader badge". Collected them all, at every grade in school.
Shouldn't be that eventful, or so I thought.
It has been proving more difficult that I thought it would be.
Firstly, before writing it, a book needs to be read finished with some understanding.
Starting the book isn't an issue, it is finishing it.
I can't seem to focus.
I can't seem to focus.
