Banana Yoshimoto’s Followers (9,379)

Banana Yoshimoto

Born

in Tokyo, Japan

July 24, 1964

Website

http://www.yoshimotobanana.com

Twitter

y_banana

Genre

Fiction, Contemporary

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Banana Yoshimoto (よしもとばなな or 吉本ばなな) is the pen name of Mahoko Yoshimoto (吉本真秀子), a Japanese contemporary writer. She writes her name in hiragana. (See also 吉本芭娜娜 (Chinese).)

Along with having a famous father, poet Takaaki Yoshimoto, Banana's sister, Haruno Yoiko, is a well-known cartoonist in Japan. Growing up in a liberal family, she learned the value of independence from a young age.

She graduated from Nihon University's Art College, majoring in Literature. During that time, she took the pseudonym "Banana" after her love of banana flowers, a name she recognizes as both "cute" and "purposefully androgynous."

Despite her success, Yoshimoto remains a down-to-earth and obscure figure. Whenever she appears in public she eschews make-up and dre ...more

Combine Editions
Banana Yoshimoto’s books

Average rating: 3.75 · 286,222 ratings · 32,983 reviews · 223 distinct works • Similar authors

	Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto, Megan Backus (Translator), Noguchi Rika 3.89 avg rating — 131,551 ratings — published 1988 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Asleep by Banana Yoshimoto, Michael Emmerich (Translator) 3.76 avg rating — 16,019 ratings — published 1989 — 62 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Goodbye Tsugumi 3.77 avg rating — 15,677 ratings — published 1989 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	N.P by Banana Yoshimoto, Ann Sherif (Translator) 3.54 avg rating — 12,921 ratings — published 1990 — 66 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Lake by Banana Yoshimoto, Michael Emmerich (Translator) 3.57 avg rating — 11,631 ratings — published 2005 — 47 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Lizard 3.74 avg rating — 10,736 ratings — published 1993 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Premonition by Banana Yoshimoto, Asa Yoneda (Translator) 3.35 avg rating — 11,705 ratings — published 1988 — 28 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dead-End Memories: Stories by Banana Yoshimoto, Asa Yoneda (Translator) 3.89 avg rating — 9,612 ratings — published 2003 — 34 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Moshi Moshi by Banana Yoshimoto, Gala Maria Follaco (Translator) 3.70 avg rating — 8,067 ratings — published 2010 — 29 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hardboiled & Hard Luck by Banana Yoshimoto, Michael Emmerich (Translator) 3.74 avg rating — 7,582 ratings — published 1999 — 37 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Banana Yoshimoto…

Series by Banana Yoshimoto

王国 [Ōkoku] (4 books)
by

Banana Yoshimoto,

Gala Maria Follaco (Translator)

3.42 avg rating — 2,818 ratings

吹上奇譚 (4 books)
by

Banana Yoshimoto,

吉本ばなな

2.82 avg rating — 2,348 ratings

Quotes by Banana Yoshimoto (?)

“Sometimes people put up walls, not to keep others out, but to see who cares enough to break them down.”
― Banana Yoshimoto

808 likes

“As I grow older, much older, I will experience many things, and I will hit rock bottom again and again. Again and again I will suffer; again and again I will get back on my feet. I will not be defeated. I won't let my spirit be destroyed.”
― Banana Yoshimoto, Kitchen

tags: defeated, destroyed, older, spirit, suffer

636 likes

“That's the advantage of insomnia. People who go to be early always complain that the night is too short, but for those of us who stay up all night, it can feel as long as a lifetime. You get a lot done”
― Banana Yoshimoto, N.P

tags: insomnia, night

617 likes

See all Banana Yoshimoto's quotes »

Polls

Which book should be our March group read? (Translated Fiction)

Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto (Japanese)

7 votes 35.0%

Cassandra by Christa Wolf (German)

4 votes 20.0%

Portrait in Sepia by Isabel Allende (Spanish)

3 votes 15.0%

Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar (French)

2 votes 10.0%

Eva Luna by Isabel Allende (Spanish)

2 votes 10.0%

Paradise of the Blind by Dương Thu Hương (Vietnamese)

2 votes 10.0%

Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan (French)

0 votes 0.0%

20 total votes

3 comments

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