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Kitchen Book Summary and Study Guide

Detailed plot synopsis reviews of Kitchen


Mikage is a young woman of early 20's living in Yokyo, Japan. After the immediate death of her only living relative, her grandmother, Mikage is found alone and unable to cope with this reality. Each night, she sleeps in the kitchen, the one room that helps her deal with the pain as she is able to listen to the vibrating sound of the refrigerator. One night, a friend of her Grandmother, Yuichi, knocks on her door and invites her to his place. So, after taking the time to say good bye to her old home, she stays in the apartment of Yuichi and his transgender "mother", Eriko. After settling into her new home, she battles over death, sexuality, and existentialism.
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The review of this Book prepared by Daniel Singer




Kitchen is a collection of two novellas, titled "Kitchen" and "Moonlight Shadows." In both stories, a young female character struggles to deal with the deaths that surround her. In "Kitchen," Mikage's last living relative, her grandmother, dies, and she moves in with a boy she scarcely knows. After the boy's transsexual father (known in the story as his mother) dies, the two characters realize how much they need one another. "Moonlight Shadows" features Satsuki, a young woman who is haunted by the death of her boyfriend. A strange woman named Urara surfaces in Satsuki's life and helps her to bid a final farewell to her lover.
The review of this Book prepared by Judy Berman



Chapter Analysis of Kitchen

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Plot & Themes

Tone of book?    -   thoughtful Time/era of story    -   1980's-1999 Romance/Romance Problems    -   Yes Internal struggle/realization?    -   Yes Kind of sex:    -   transvestites Is this an adult or child's book?    -   Adult or Young Adult Book Coping with loss of loved one(s)    -   Yes Loss of...    -   grandpa/ma Taboo sex story?    -   Yes

Main Character

Gender    -   Female Profession/status:    -   student Age:    -   a teen    -   20's-30's Ethnicity/Nationality    -   Japanese Unusual characteristics:    -   Mentally ill

Setting

How much descriptions of surroundings?    -   8 () Asia/Pacific    -   Yes Asian country:    -   Japan City?    -   Yes

Writing Style

Sex in book?    -   Yes What kind of sex:    -   vague references only    -   descript of kissing Amount of dialog    -   significantly more dialog than descript    -   significantly more descript than dialog

Books with storylines, themes & endings like Kitchen

Banana Yoshimoto Books Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
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