With the publication of Kitchen, the dazzling English-language debut that is still her best-loved book, the literary world realized that Yoshimoto was a young writer of enduring talent whose work has quickly earned a place among the best of contemporary Japanese literature. Kitchen is an enchantingly original book that juxtaposes two tales about mothers, love, tragedy, and the power of the kitchen and home in the lives of a pair of free-spirited young women in contemporary Japan. Mikage, the heroine, is an orphan raised by her grandmother, who has passed away. Grieving, Mikage is taken in by her friend Yoichi and his mother (who is really his cross-dressing father) Eriko. As the three of them form an improvised family that soon weathers its own tragic losses, Yoshimoto spins a lovely, evocative tale with the kitchen and the comforts of home at its heart.

In a whimsical style that recalls the early Marguerite Duras, "Kitchen" and its companion story, "Moonlight Shadow," are elegant tales whose seeming simplicity is the ruse of a very special writer whose voice echoes in the mind and the soul.

吉本芭娜娜（1964－），本名吉本真秀子，生于东京，日本大学艺术系毕业。毕业后一度在餐厅当服务员。1987年以《厨房》获海燕新人文学奖，次年再度以《厨房》获泉镜花文学奖，后陆续获山本周五郎奖、紫式部奖等文学大奖。 1993年获意大利SCANO奖。作品畅销，被翻译成多种文字，受世界各地读者关注，掀起“芭娜娜热”。