From the Bookshelf of Reading with Namjoon…

Kitchen

Banana Yoshimoto,

Megan Backus (Translator)

Start date: March 1, 2025

Finish date: May 1, 2025

Discussion: Novels

Why we're reading this: 1st read: July 2021
2nd read: March 2025
[close] 1st read: July 2021
2nd read: March 2025

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Showing 2 of 4 topics — 13 comments total

Novels

Reviews
By E L K Y · 3 posts · 75 views

last updated Jul 18, 2023 09:29AM

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By E L K Y · 6 posts · 83 views

last updated Oct 08, 2022 03:07AM

What Members Thought

Sep 16, 2021 th. rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2021, bts-rkive, still-with-you-moonchild-project

I thoroughly enjoyed it. tw// death

It is grief, it is loneliness, it is finding the warmth in whatever strange form it may be - be it the huge sofa in the middle of plants-filled living room next to the kitchen, or the monotone humming of the refrigerator and it's warm radiator, or the steam from the middle-of-nowhere pork cutlets in the chill of night. It is the sudden lost of your reality surrounded by so many deaths that you just feel numb and disconnected - and the struggles of overcoming it I thoroughly enjoyed it. tw// death

It is grief, it is loneliness, it is finding the warmth in whatever strange form it may be - be it the huge sofa in the middle of plants-filled living room next to the kitchen, or the monotone humming of the refrigerator and it's warm radiator, or the steam from the middle-of-nowhere pork cutlets in the chill of night. It is the sudden lost of your reality surrounded by so many deaths that you just feel numb and disconnected - and the struggles of overcoming it to find hope in the ambiguity of the future for you to live on.

As much as the topic itself was pretty heavy, the book itself was a brief, 'light' read that could've been done in one sitting. This is possibly from the writing style - which is simple and easy enough to breeze through yet with proses that can cut through the core of describing feelings that honestly felt close to home.

"Maybe all I had been hoping for was a bed in which to be able to stop thinking, just for a little while, about what happened before and what would happen in the future. I was too sad to be able to sleep in the same bed with anyone; that would only make the sadness worse."

"Life can be so hard.
"Yes. 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."

"We've been very lonely, but we had it easy. Because death is so heavy - we, too young to know about it, couldn't handle it. After this you and I may end up seeing nothing but suffering, difficulty, and ugliness, but if only you'll agree to it, I want for us to go on to more difficult places, happier places, whatever comes, together. I want you to make the decision after you're completely better, so take your time thinking about it. In the meantime, though, don't disappear on me."

The two main characters were honestly a little bland to me, which I'm used to (and almost expected) in these kinds of stories but there were two moments from the MC that struck me as quite refreshing: the confrontation of the supposed "jealous rival" and the last quote from above. She was calm, collected and was very mature and MADE SENSE. I loved the way she communicated then. She stood up for herself in a way that was civil and classy, laid out reality-checks, acknowledged both the other party feelings AND tell her own without discredit either. Basically overall those two moments bumped this book up from 3 to 4 star tbh.

Spoiler and more trigger warnings concerning LGBTQ+ death (proceed with caution):
(view spoiler)

The plot itself wasn't very dramatic except for one or two moments, but as I've mentioned previously, it hinges on the "light" read. ...more

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Jun 22, 2023 sonalli rated it really liked it

I don’t know what to say except that please read it

1 like · Like · see review

Oct 07, 2021 E L K Y rated it really liked it

Shelves: japanese

Grief is such an interesting thing, it's fundamental to us as living beings and yet we ignore to acknowledge the very idea of it until it suddenly and without asking rushes into our lives.
The way life with and around loss, grief and life is portrayed in this book is truly unique and perhaps almost desirable in its elegance. Since grief is very rarely elegant, pretty or even manageable. ...more

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