The best way to review this novel, in my opinion, would simply be the way that I would explain what this book is about to someone who asked me. Obviously, despite its title it is not merely just about an area with food but something more.
This story starts when our female lead character’s grandmother- her only living relative- dies and she consequently moves in with our male lead, who knew her grandmother, and his mother. She doesn’t do this out of a financial need, per se, but rather a need to not be alone.
As the story progresses, the male lead’s mother is murdered. The two main characters are now left so that all they have are each other.
While there is the underlying theme of the kitchen being her favorite room in a house, her passion for cooking and the line “Food always tastes better when I’m with you” (paraphrased), the main idea in this book is not only death but how we handle losing someone who is the world to us. Both main characters have that point where they seemingly could go down that road of no return into a bitter loneliness, but are each pulled out of it by the other. The book really hits hard on the fact that when someone dies, they’re gone and you’re not going to see them again. That part of you is always going to be missing, but at the same time, you must move on and continue living because it is all that you can really do.
The last portion of this book is a different story, which is along the same lines.
Officially, this is not only my first Banana Yoshimoto book, but it is also the first she wrote. Happily for me, she has a number of books under her belt now and I do intend to eventually read them all. I am already into her second book as I’m typing this review. If you have not yet discovered Banana Yoshimoto, now is as good a time as any.
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