Kitchen - Banana Yoshimoto

While searching for some other book, I bumped into this novella. Looking it up in the GoodReads, the reviews were promising. The magical surrealism that is prominent in Murakami’s works is dominant in these stories too. What is it with Japanese writers... they so easily weave such a tantalizing web around the readers? The characters communicate less verbally and more through their thoughts and imaginations. The line towards surrealism is so thin... gravely thin and so artful, it feels like walking around in somebody else’s dreams.

Simple story line, yet bursting with emotions, it did not make me cry, but burdened me with such a heavy heart. Where does this heaviness come from I wonder, and I am not able to point to this or that, the feeling so gently builds up through the narration.There are two stories, Kitchen and Moon light Shadow. Kitchen in turn has another chapter in it - Full Moon. Kitchen has been reviewed by many as the better of the two, and is quite obviously the best. But there is a sort of pathos in the Moon light shadow, that touches your heart straight, and pulls the strings, and guess what, it is her first work, naturally the first work always touches deeper though may not be that well written. 

The story in Kitchen is well planned and flawless. Kitchen is where I find solace too at times, unpacking things, cleaning up, clearing up relieve me of too many pressing and bothering thoughts and add up a liveliness. I end up changing menus, cooking specials or stocking up items. The bothering thoughts simply disappear, and don’t disturb me like they did. And it is in a similar way, the title links up to the story.

Part one is about Eriko, who becomes the mother to his child after his wife's death, and is so perfection personified that he goes about a cosmetic transfer to perfect his feminine look. The author explores the subtle yet powerful relationship between Eriko and Mikage. At the end of the chapter, Mikage moves away to her own residence, but still there is sort of a happiness that permeates subtly.

Part two, briefly describes Eriko’s death (The few lines about her death and her Will are loaded with insights into her beautiful personality), and its effects on Yuichi and Mikage. The fear of death and abandonment looms large over the two. Mikage going to meet Yuichi with the takeover, and finally meeting him feels more like a dream.