Kitchen by Banana YoshimotoMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
"But if a person hasn't ever experienced true despair, she grows old never knowing how to evaluate where she is in life; never understanding what joy really is. I'm grateful for it."
I used to see copies of this book everywhere decades ago, as it was one of the earliest to be translated into English, hence one of the pioneers of JLit or Japanese literature (which constitutes a lot of my reading these days).
I never liked the cover, and still don't, but finally got around to reading the novel and am happy to report that this is a prime example of never judging completely by the look of a book.
To my surprise, it's actually two works in one, a longer novella and a short story. Both talk of dealing with personal tragedy, and how one can move past the grieving and get on with the task of living.
I think this book would mean more to older readers, those who have tasted how bitter life can be, side by side with its sweetness.
There are no Hollywood happy endings, and cruel, crazy things happen to the best people without any warning. Pretty much like real life.
What I admire is how the author does not shy away from showing the consequences of tragedy, and offers a mature look into the pursuit of life amidst the trauma of loss.
"In the biting air I told myself, there will be so much pleasure, so much suffering. With or without Yuichi."
Happiness is a choice, and so, too, is sharing one's life and heartbreak with another. We need not be sad nor lonely forever, Yoshimoto shows in this short yet very wise book. There is, always, hope, with each new dawn, with each take-out katsudon. For even as we think we can't go on, sometimes it just takes a bite of ebi tempura "so delicious it makes me grateful I'm alive." Sometimes it's encountering a kindred soul who touches your life profoundly with a single conversation over coffee. Sometimes books can save lives, and I have a feeling this one has touched so many.
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