Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto

18 reviews

queenkath32's review

reflective sad

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, and Hate crime

mirivii's review against another edition

sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Bought this book in Tokyo and read it on my way to Kanazawa and back. It’s a very fast book to go through, even though it deals with so much loss it almost falls into tragicomedy. 

I cannot say I appreciate the way it is narrated, but I wondered if the translation did not give it justice. Knowing Japanese yo be rather poetic, maybe the translation was not up to par. 

Anyway both Kitchen and the short novella afterwards are a  somewhat lighthearted tales of chosen family, star crossed lovers and blossoming wild flowers between concrete. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, and Murder

syinhui's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Cold and gloomy. Whimsical and serene. Charming and quirky characters.

The quiet melancholy and gentle but sorrowful atmosphere of these two novellas seem to be a perfect read for cold nights or rainy afternoons.  While the themes of death and loss are central in Kitchen and Moonlight Shadow,  it’s also about the process of healing and finding comfort in the most mundane things. The kitchen becomes a place of solace. Good food is like a soothing balm for a tired and wounded spirit.  

As someone who also has an affinity for kitchens and loves cooking, I found myself inevitably drawn to the titular story, Kitchen. I’ve always had a certain fondness for books that offer exquisite descriptions and appreciation of food and eating. While the prose is rather simplistic and I think the approach to character dynamics and relationships is sometimes a bit too shoujo-esque or slice-of-life for my tastes, some lines relating to food and the transformative power of shared meals  - turning ordinary into something extraordinary and deeply touching really resonated with me. 

Truly happy memories always live on, shining. Over time, one by one, they come back to life. The meals we ate together, numberless afternoons and evenings.
When was it that Yuichi said to me, "Why is it that everything I eat when I'm with you is so delicious?"

"It's amazing how good this is," I said. The tempura on rice we were eating, seated at the counter in this new little shop smelling of fresh wood, was so good it revived my appetite.
"Isn't it?" said Hiiragi.
"Yes. It's delicious. So delicious it makes me grateful I'm alive."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Grief

Moderate: Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, and Transphobia

Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, and Terminal illness

lenaww's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Transphobia

edgaranjapoe's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Death

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Deadnaming, and Mental illness

Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Cancer, Cursing, Murder, Animal death, Death of parent, Hate crime, Car accident, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Body shaming

spookily's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Transphobia

Moderate: Blood, Murder, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Outing, Hate crime, and Alcohol

Minor: Stalking, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Cancer, and Terminal illness

nabila99's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Transphobia, Deadnaming, and Mental illness

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Hate crime, Murder, and Car accident

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, and Stalking

rucha_s's review

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Transphobia

rieviolet's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

I think that the book was really not for me. I did not get along with the writing style, it was too sentimental for me. 
Also, I did not connect with most of the characters, so many times while a character or another was going on and on with a monologue I found myself thinking "What is this person talking about? Should I care? I'm just bored".

I do not like the way transness was handled in the main story (and in the attached bonus short story), I should maybe be a little less harsh in my judgement given that the book was published in the 80s but, still, it was not pleasant to read, especially seeing how it ended.

Also, I listened to the audiobook and it made the reading experience even worse. I have to accept that audio format is not for me; I was already not much taken by the story, but by having to listen to it instead of focusing on a written page, my mind wandered time and time again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Grief, Murder, Hate crime, Deadnaming, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Outing, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Car accident, and Fatphobia

Minor: Injury/Injury detail

freckled_frog_boi's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.75

I loved the writing style and how she described simple moments was absolutely delicious to read. However, as a trans person, the writing surrounding trans characters was horrible and openly transphobic. The characters love their friends who are trans women but out them, and call them men, make jokes about them being masculine, and are constantly reminding themselves and others that they are still men. The trans characters themselves are beautiful and I wished they were treated better. Also, there is a weird phenomenon where transness is treated like mental decline when faced with grief(?) which was weird and unsettling. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Deadnaming, Death of parent, Grief, Hate crime, Outing, Suicidal thoughts, and Transphobia

Moderate: Fatphobia, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, and Alcoholism