Kitchen

Original title: Kitchen

By: Banana Y.

First published in Italy: Feltrinelli “I Canguri”, 1991

Genere: Novel, fiction

Overview: “There is no place in the world I love more than the kitchen…”. So begins Banana Yoshimoto's novel, “Kitchen”. The main character, Mikage’s, dreams of kitchens, brand new and shiny or old and worn. Alone in the world after the death of her grandmother, kitchens represent the warmth of the family she always wanted. But family can not only be chosen, but also invented. Thus, the father of her young friend Yuichi can become or reveal himself as a mother and Mikage can choose them as her family, in a tragicomic crescendo of ambiguity. With this novel, and the short story that closes it, Banana Yoshimoto was brought to the attention of the Italian public. She portrays an unusual image of Japan, with a fresh and original language, almost a literary reworking of manga comic style.