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，生於東京，日本大學藝術係畢業。畢業後一度在餐廳當服務員。1987年以《廚房》獲海燕新人文學奬，次年再度以《廚房》獲泉鏡花文學奬，後陸續獲山本周五郎奬、紫式部奬等文學大奬。 1993年獲意大利SCANO奬。作品暢銷，被翻譯成多種文字，受世界各地讀者關注，掀起“芭娜娜熱”。