Rating: 
Summary: Surrealistic and Whimsical
Review: Yoshimoto's style isn't for everyone -- her writing is simple and straightforward, and these qualities too often aren't given the credit they deserve. Somehow she manages to use this method to tell stories from the unusual to the bizarre to the magical -- and in so doing brings elements of metaphysics or science fiction into the everyday. The second story in this book is a fairy tale, but one that uses the trappings of ordinary life to illustrate a near-universal experience; I think it's one of the most moving short stories I've ever read.
Rating: 
Summary: Modern look at love,loss, and family
Review: "Kitchen" is a collection of two stories that are uplifting even when describing less-than-happy circumstances. This book offers a moving examination of the contemporary "family" that most Gen X-ers should be able to strongly relate to- Yoshimoto is the voice of a generation,on even an international level.
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Summary: It dealt with issues of loss and death and life itself.
Review: Yoshimoto provides an insight into death and life and how, even though one may have their circle of friends for support, it's the family circle that matters in the end. I really enjoyed Yoshimoto's close description of Mikage and Eriko, the 'supposed' mother who is transvestite.It was the first book I have read that describes the characters and their emotions. A job well done and this novella deserves many rewards!
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Summary: Kitchen- A Sensationally gripping novel dealing w/gd issues
Review: Kitchen is the first book beyond ten pages which was able to grip my attention. Upon reading this book I was so fascinated with the interesting story that I couldn't put the book down. I read the entire book in one sitting. Banana Yoshimoto deals with modern day issues such as love, loss, homosexuality, and belief (religious) all with amazing grace. She intertwines those central themes into two eventful stories. Despite the feeling of loss (or perhaps gain for some readers) by the end of both stories, there is something, and I am uncertain exactly what, that makes me love the stories and desire to read other books by Yoshimoto. Aside from content, both stories are succent (to the point). They do not drone on with small and seemingly unimportant details. This book is a *must* read for any person interested in reading an interesting and mind gripping, roller- coaster paced novel. Read it today!
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Summary: No kitsch in Kitchen!
Review: These two stories are quirky and, at times, very moving. I love the translation (I wonder what word means "ping!" in Japanese?), I love the whimsical prose, and I love the fact that when it needs to get serious and emotional, it's not completely out of left field and it works. I read this book about 7 years ago, and I've bought two more of Yoshimoto's books in the meantime, but I can't seem to make myself pick them up! Hopefully they'll be as charming as this was!
Rating:
Summary: Sensitive,Short but Sweet
Review: This book is special for those who ever have an experience of losing the love one.I just doubt if the author has ever encountered the grief as her work really touches my heart.Her writing is also beautifully poetic style and it's smooth enough to read through only a night.The Moon Shadow is the supporting as well as amazingly sensitive work.However,the English translation is quite dull and not so much like the original one.The short version of Kitchen in the New Japanese Voice is more well translated.Any way,the content is still alright.I really recommend this book for those who need to be survived from grief.The book leaves a new perspective of life that we might not find if we do not read it.
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Summary: Wondrous tales of loss and hope
Review: This book bubbles with the hope that the younger generation feels for the future, even as the past fades from sight. Death, one of the grand themes of literature, is respected, understood and learned from by this author, so young and pretty, yet seemingly so aged and wise. If the book has any disappointments for the reader, it may be that the characters that one falls in love with in the first two stories are not carried into the third. You will cry, you will laugh, you will remember your losses and will gain an appreciation for both the past and the future.
Rating: 
Summary: Dissapointment...
Review: I've been told that this is a wonderful book for ages, so, i went and bought it and i can't explain the dissapointment i felt when i read it. The first story is just not good, the last story however is beautiful, but i think that the way Yoshimoto writes, the simple way, doesn't really fit me. It's an okay book to read if you haven't got anything to do or anyother book to read but otherwise i wouldn't and i'm not sure if i am happy about spending the £6.99 for the book, i could've gotten a much better book for that!
Rating:
Summary: another bright young japanese author
Review: many dismiss yoshimoto due to the simplicity of her writing. i think that it's yoshimoto's strength; these are quirky works which are deeply felt and wonderfully touching.
Rating:
Summary: shining all night read
Review: buy this book. find a quiet spot. you just might find a world that you didn't previously know or perhaps forgot about.
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