Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto

5 reviews

fringedyke's review

emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.5

This is such a heartfelt read. It covers topics such as family, grief and love, and how all of those things look different over time. I love the way Yoshimoto describes things. Will be reading again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia

Moderate: Suicide

caseyreadslol's review

hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

not much to say, just a juxtapositionally cozy story about grief&loss 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Hate crime and Murder

Minor: Suicide

I chose to rate the transphobia explicit as the main trans character is murdered by a stalker claiming she "tricked" him, very much evoking trans panic, though the moment itself is not told in gruesome detail

12dejamoo's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

I’m not sure I even quite have the words to describe this book. It’s enchanting. And tragic. But also funny and strange and a little silly. I wanted to cry the whole time, sometimes from sadness, other times from joy, and other times from the sheer beauty of a turn of phrase. It is a privilege to have read this

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Death and Murder

Minor: Transphobia and Suicide

thisthat100's review against another edition

emotional hopeful tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Suicide, Transphobia, and Grief

tej_reads's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

3.25

This copy contained two short stories, "Kitchen" and "Moonlight Shadow". The stories explain loss in such an organic way, as they rely heavily on internal monologue. So you're immersed very quickly into the character's mental state, emotions and thoughts.

Eriko is trans, I thought they were kind and genuine but I did not like the way they were treated. The main character Mikage and Eriko's son Yoichi and on the surface accepting but consistently refer to Eriko as 'really a man' and that doesn't sit right with me. Granted Kitchen was written in the 1980s so the positive depiction of Eriko was progressive but I didn't like the comments by either characters.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Stalking and Suicide