Registered to ring.
The English edition.
I read this about 10 years ago, when it had just appeared. I'm curious to read other readers' opinions and will reread the novel when it has finished its ring journey.
Slim volume, not very heavy, should fit in any standard letterbox.

Dit is de Engelstalige uitgave van Kitchen van Banana Yoshimoto.

Ik heb dit zo'n 10 jaar geleden gelezen, toen het net uit was. Ben benieuwd hoe het bij andere lezers valt. En als het boekje weer thuis is, lees ik het zelf nog eens.
't Is een dunne past-door-de-brievenbus pocket. Heb hier geen weegschaal, maar 't lijkt me een lichtgewichtje.

De eerste aanmeldingen zijn binnen/
readers in the ring:
zoegernitz, Vienna
quico, Portugal
lot12, NL
MaaikeB, NL
Olifant, NL
Dettie niet
miekepieke, NL
iiwi, NL
yvonnep, NL

And back to me!

Ring closed, book back home.

Sent to zoegernitz in Vienna yesterday afternoon.

...and it´s already here!
I´ll read it as soon as possible.

"Kitchen" arrived today. I'll read it as soon as I can.

In "Kitchen" ,Mikage Sakurai lost her grandmother and is lonely and depressed. She finds confort in Yiuchi, a young friend of her grandmother and goes to live with him and is mother until she feels strong enough to live alone.
Mikage's mourning is averted when Yuichi looses his mother. Their mutual losses bring the couple together.
"Moonlight shadow", the second story of the book, is a tale about the pain of loosing a lover, and retells in a contemporary setting the ancient japanese legend of the "Weaver and the Herdsman".
Highly recommended!

Sent to lot12, in The Netherlands.

Kitchen arrived safe and sound in my mailbox, with a beautiful bookmark (thank you, quico!). It is, however, the fourth ringbook arriving in a short time so it has to wait a little.

This book touched me. Somewhere in my belly, between my midriff and my -ever growing- womb, 'Kitchen' left a hole. I started reading it in the middle of a dark, sleepless night in La Palma (Canary Islands). While reading it I thought: 'Ah, yes, nice book. Ah yes, I know what she's doing.' After thirty pages or so I decided to go to sleep. I put the book away, turned on my other side and started crying. No specific reason, but I cried for half an hour.

After that I didn't read the book in dark nights, but in cheerfully lit rooms with nice comforting things around me and a cup of tea. The crying didn't repeat itself, but the book made me sad every time. It took me a while to figure out why. I know now. The book tells me that even when there are incredibly nice people around, you are alone and lonely.

I will buy my own copy ot this book sometime later. I like everything about it: the significance of kitchens, the loneliness, the warmth, the decrioptions of dark nights and freezing cold, the people, the stories, the different layers... The only thing I can't agree with is the dover blurp that says: '...this is an infectuously good-humoured read.' I don't think it is a sad read over all, but I would call it a thoughtful more than a good-humoured read.

Found this book on the MaaikeB-pile in Cafe Averechts (fortunately the pile was not very high). I see that it came from lot, whom I didn't talk to, but only greeted in passing. Couldn't see your belly, Lot, but you looked fine! Thanks for the booklet.

Sweet little booklet. I expected to find more about cooking and kitchens, but despite this small letdown - ;-) - I liked the book, especially Moonlight Shadow. What I really don't like is her silly pseudonym, which is used as a header on every page. You really get it rubbed in that way!
Thanks for ringing the book, maupi.

And another bookring. Luckily I'm the last one on the list, so I won't feel too rushed. How do you do it MaaikeB, you somehow always manage to pick the most beautiful postcards! Thanks both ringer and sender.

When was it I realised that, on this truly dark and solitary path we all walk, the only way we can light is our own?

Beautiful! I like Banana Yoshimoto’s writing style. It is simple, compact, a bit poetic. Both stories are about loss of loved ones and getting to terms with that. The stories are very moving, but never sentimental. That is the strength I think of this novella.

I found this comforting:

The sky outside was a dull grey. Waves of clouds were being pushed around by the wind with amazing force. In this world there is no place for sadness. No place; not one.

And a link to ‘The weaver and the herdsman‘ Tanabata

En er zijn weer nieuwe lezers aan de lijst toegevoegd. Boekje gaat morgen naar miekepieke.

Mijn eerste boekenringboek is aangekomen! Bedankt Olifant; ook voor het leuke kaartje! De eerste paar pagina's heb ik al gelezen terwijl ik, heel toepasselijk, stond te koken. Het lijkt me wel wat.

Dit boek kon me niet zo bekoren. Om de een of andere reden raakte ik maar niet in het verhaal. Misschien ook wel omdat ik momenteel niet zo'n zin heb in dit soort boeken. In de toekomst kom ik het misschien nog eens ergens tegen en zal ik het opnieuw lezen. Nu eerst op naar het volgende boek!

Ik stuur het boek zo snel mogelijk door naar de volgende op de lijst: iiwi.

Ik heb Kitchen vandaag ontvangen.

Het is moeilijk hierover een journal-entry te schrijven zonder te diep persoonlijk te worden. Ik vond Kitchen een prachtig boek, op een diep persoonlijk niveau dus, maar ook qua schrijfstijl. Van haar schrijven gaat een rust uit, zoals ik ook bij Japanse films ervaar. Bij het laatste verhaal was het iets makkelijker afstand te houden, mede door het magisch realistische aspect ervan.

Sorry, I forgot the not Dutch readers.

It is hard to write a journal about this book, without becoming to personal. I loved Kitchen very much, on a deep pesonal level as mentioned, but als in writing. Her writintg is very calm and makes me at ease, a feeling I also get by Japansese movies. The last story was easier to keep at a distance, partly because a the magic realism.

Thank you, iiwi. This is a fine book to accompany me during my voyage (travel?) to Madrid. And what beautiful journals you all wrote. Hope I don't cry my way to Madrid, Lot.

I loved this book. In Kitchen I recognized so much of myself. Making food is my way of telling I love you, I like you, thank you. Making food is my arm around a shoulder and comfort for myself. Making food is best if it's done for others. And I recognized the lonelyness in both stories. Because of all the recognition in the first story, Moonlight Shadow carried me further away. Such a dreamy story. In careful, not exaggerated words. Thank you, Maupi. The book is coming back to you. But how?

Back home! It is nice to read all your reviews and I'm glad most of you enjoyed reading this book as much as I did. I'll reread it soon with your reviews at the back of my mind.

enjoy!