A review by capy
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto

emotional reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

In the innermost recess of my heart the light of instinct was twinkling, and I was as free of doubt as if I had heard the command, "Go!"
In retrospect I realize that fate was a ladder on which, at the time, I could not afford to miss a single rung. To skip out on even one scene would have meant never making it to the top, although it would have been by far the easier choice. What motivated me was probably that little light still left in my half dead heart, glittering in the darkness. Yet without it, perhaps, I might have slept better. 

a heartfelt piece on the importance of grounding yourself while living with loss. the characters we follow deal with untimely deaths, work out their boundaries and find in each other the support only a chosen family can provide. especially appreciate how it emphasizes the need to keep going, to keep doing little tasks in grief until those same tasks feel like a new baseline
have to say i expected the writing to hone in on cooking more, whether it be descriptions of meals, the artistic process of cooking or the kitchen as a space; but regardless, this was really special

some other (spoilery) passages i really enjoyed:
It's so great, I thought, having tea in the afternoon with someone you really feel at home with. I knew how wildly he tosses in his sleep, how much milk and sugar he takes in his coffee. I knew his face in front of the mirror, insanely serious, as he tries to tame his mop of unruly hair with the hair dryer. Then I thought, if we were still together I would be worrying about how I've just chipped the nail polish on my right hand scrubbing the refrigerator.

I had never cried this way in my life. As the hot tears poured out, I remembered that I had never had a proper cry over my grandmother's death. I had a feeling that I wasn't crying over any one sad thing, but rather for many.

When I finished reading I carefully refolded the letter. The smell of Eriko's favorite perfume tugged at my heart. This, too, will disappear after the letter is opened a few more times, I thought. That was hardest of all.