I bought this book while travelling in Japan.

The back cover reads:

Kitchen juxtaposes two tales about mothers, transsexuality, bereavement, kitchens, love and tragedy in contemporary Japan. It is a startlingly originalfirst work by Japn's brightest young literary star and is now a cult film.

When Kitchen was first published in Japan in 1987 it won two of Japan's most prestigious literary prizes, climbed its way to the top of the bestseller lists, then remained there for over a year and sold millions of copies. Banana Yoshimoto was hailed as a young writer of great talent and great passion whose literature, andhas been described as 'the voice of young Japan' by the Independent of Sunday.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Posted to Dolphin-au after offering it in the '1001+ books to read before you die virtual book box' on www.bookobsessed.com.

Comments to come.

I received this a few weeks ago,but with limited internet access have not beenable to journal it any earlier. Thanks jubby, looks like an interesting little book.

I read this book recently but must say I was not terribly impressed. On some level I guess it is a representation of modern (Japanese) attitudes in younger people, but the lack of emotional involvement that permeates this book makes it hard to connect to . I sometimes get the same impression from Murakami's books (but not all of them), so wonder if this is something specifically Japanese?
Thanks for letting me read this book jubby. Will try to get it to continue its journey.

This book is on its way to the UK. Enjoy!

Arrived safely in the UK, thanks very much!

I found the first part of this far more engaging than the shorter latter part but there was still a disconnected feeling among it all. Interesting read.