Ms. Yoshimotos writing is lucid earnest and disarming. ... It seizes hold of the readers sympathy and refuses to let go. Michiko Kakutani The New York Times With the publication of Kitchen the dazzling Englishlanguage debut that is still her bestloved book the literary world realized that Yoshimoto was a young writer of enduring talent whose work has quickly earned a place among the best of contemporary Japanese literature. Kitchen is an enchantingly original book that juxtaposes two tales about mothers love tragedy and the power of the kitchen and home in the lives of a pair of freespirited young women in contemporary Japan. Mikage the heroine is an orphan raised by her grandmother who has passed away. Grieving Mikage is taken in by her friend Yoichi and his mother who is really his crossdressing father Eriko. As the three of them form an improvised family that soon weathers its own tragic losses Yoshimoto spins a lovely evocative tale with the kitchen and the comforts of home at its heart. In a whimsical style that recalls the early Marguerite Duras Kitchen and its companion story Moonlight Shadow are elegant tales whose seeming simplicity is the ruse of a very special writer whose voice echoes in the mind and the soul. show more