Rating: 
Summary: Cute, touching story -- not great literature though
Review: This was a very enjoyable novel: the protagonist's thoughts and feelings are described with great simplicity and sensitivity, and her romantic travails are ones with which I could identify. It was fun to read, it was touching, it was like a warm conversation with a good friend. It is not great, classic literature, and it did not impact me in any great intellectual way -- but perhaps it was not meant to do so.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful whimsy
Review: Banana Yoshimoto writing style is artless, perhaps a product of her innocence and inexperience as a writer. These qualities serve her well as she grapples with themes of death and loss in the novella and short story that make up "Kitchen".Japanese dishes are meant to be elegant and perfect in their simplicity -- Banana seems to have taken the lessons of Japanese cuisine to heart in the title novella, "Kitchen". She combines a few elements -- the death of a grandmother, a lonely girl, a beautiful transsexual, the transsexual's son, hunger (for love and food), and the wonder of new healing relationships -- and the result is a simple story endearing in its whimsy and bewilderment. The short story that follows "Kitchen" continues to address themes of loss with that same simplicity, but does so with less depth. At the time of this writing, Yoshimoto was obviously still a young writer with much potential. May she never lose the innocence that made this book so charming.
Rating:
Summary: Simply beautiful
Review: Banana, a young author, has unconsciously used her innocence and inexperience as a writer to handle the bewilderingly difficult topic of death in a novella and short story, both of which are found in "Kitchen". Japanese cuisine is understated, simple and elegant -- much like the novella, which is perfect in its juxtaposition of whimsy and wistfulness. Yoshimoto combines a few ingredients: the death of a grandmother, a lonely girl, a beautiful transsexual, the transsexual's son, hunger (for food and companionship), and the healing love of one person for another. The shorter story that follows sustains the mood of the first and deals with the same themes of death and loss, although it doesn't have the same depth as the first. Kitchen feels like the work of a young author, who is taking her first baby steps into the world of storytelling. I hope she never loses her sense of innocent bewilderment, because that's what made these two stories so wonderful.
Rating: 
Summary: Putting the first person first!
Review: It must be so difficult to write a story in the first person and keep it fresh from beginning to end! Try it sometime--it's not as easy as Banana makes it look! But those of us who cherish this work are grateful that she pulled off this feat so well. Seeing the world through one character's eyes is such a trip into the human psyche. Banana takes us on an excellent journey into the heart and soul of another spirit. This lovingly crafted novel is one of my favourites because it deals with so many things that are essential in life: food, love, a comfy bed, and the ability to heal from the sorrow that sometimes comes our way. The author provides the reader with a virtuoso snapshot of one person's struggle to move on after a loved one's death. I have not personally lived through the death of a loved one--but I know I will--and this novel gave me a glimpse into the darkness that can fall when a beloved spirit leaves this world. Small is indeed beautiful. This Kitchen provides food for the soul.
Rating:
Summary: my favourite book
Review: This is my favourite book. I read it in a summer when I lost one of my friends.The book gives me scourage to pass the days and nights.Actually I read a Chinese version of it.It touches me a lot.
Rating:
Summary: Read this book from a Buddhist Perspective
Review: 'Kitchen' is an incredible book about accepting what life gives you. Life is sufferings and joy, and how you deal with them bring you closer to your enlightenment. You are alone in the world, and whether you accept or fight what you are given is a defining moment in your own character. Read this book and understand the Buddhist perspective, as well as Samarai thinking. Remember the Samarai's - think about this when a 'noble' death is described. A MUST READ!
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful novel about love and loss
Review: Banana Yoshimoto is one of the most gifted writers I have ever read. Her novel, "Kitchen", takes you to an emotional rollercoaster of love and loss. The pain one feels when someone one cares about dies -- the painful and the seemingly endless grieving process and then finding the strength to move on. The two stories are beautiful and emotional, she has a way with words, the writing is very beautiful. I will definitely check the other books from this author.
Rating:
Summary: absolute magic
Review: The power of this book is the contrast between the elements of the stories.In fact the two stories included in the book are so capturing that actually form a paralel universe on their own.Unusual themes,given through a purely poetic yet physical view make the characters surreal but familiar in the same time.The sequence of the stories,combined with a dense and straightforward writting give the impression that the book is three times as big.Yoshimoto manages to pull hope and love for life out of intensely depressing situations. The two-level writting and the sense of contradiction that haunts "Kitchen" are characteristics of major writters.Yoshimoto is one of them.
Rating:
Summary: The secret of life revealed
Review: Some say that "Kitchen" is a mere shoujo manga written in the format of a novel. Doubtless they mean this in a negative way, (although I was rather intrigued) dismissing this book because it is a whimsical romance. This doesn't do "Kitchen" justice. It is quite whimsical, in a haunting and sometimes unsettling way. Yoshimoto's touch is so light and deft, you will look around you and wonder how on earth you got to where you are. What better way to illustrate life? "Kitchen" is, at its heart a romance - that is true too. Yes, there is a wonderfully intricate realtionship between a boy and a girl, but it is a romance with life that really moves this story. It is a romance with couches and kitchens and houseplants and ripe red tomatoes. "Kitchen" captures the importance of being a romantic -- of truly, deeply experiencing each moment and all the pain and beauty it provides. The companion short story "Moonlight Shadow" hightens this feeling even more. "Carpe Diem" always bears repeating even, especially, in the face of tragedy.
Rating:
Summary: Loss, mourning, and the return of hope
Review: Kitchen deals deftly with contemporary issues of the human heart, including isolation, longing for companionship, and struggling for meaning after loss. The simplicity with which Banana Yoshimoto weaves her tale of loss, mourning, and the return of hope transcends culture and left me with a quiet sense of peace.
| 
