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Stories
by Banana Yoshimoto
Japan's internationally celebrated master storyteller returns with five stories of women on their way to healing that vividly portrays the blissful moments and everyday sorrows that surround us in everyday life.
First published in Japan in 2003 and never before published in the United States, Dead-End Memories collects the stories of five women who, following sudden and painful events, quietly discover their ways back to recovery.
Among the women we meet in Dead-End Memories is one betrayed by her fiancé who finds a perfect refuge in an apartment above her uncle's bar while seeking the real meaning of happiness. In "House of Ghosts," the daughter of a yoshoku restaurant owner encounters the ghosts of a sweet elderly couple who haven't yet realized that they've been dead for years. In "Tomo-chan's Happiness," an office worker who is a victim of sexual assault finally catches sight of the hope of romance.
Yoshimoto's gentle, effortless prose reminds us that one true miracle can be as simple as having someone to share a meal with, and that happiness is always within us if only we take a moment to pause and reflect. Discover this collection of what Yoshimoto herself calls the "most precious work of my writing career."
"Yoshimoto's resonant collection centers on women struggling through challenging events...Yoshimoto embellishes these gorgeously written entries with sensual descriptions of food and sex, and makes them memorable by showing how the women set themselves free from misfortune via friendship and resilience. This is a gem." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Each tale features women examining significant relationships, and each involves food-related settings—restaurants, cafeterias, a bar—seeming to suggest emotional needs transformed into something achingly physical...Bittersweet yet radiant, poignant yet promising, Yoshimoto once again showcases her dazzling appeal." - Booklist (starred review)
"[P]erfect for readers looking for stories that will leave a sweet taste in their mouths without sacrificing depth or intelligence. An uncommonly warmhearted set of tales." - Kirkus Reviews
"Although you will find heartbreak, ghosts, and betrayal humming in the background of these tales, you will also encounter a great deal of heart and optimism. Don't we all need that right now? It's the kind of collection that leaves you a little lighter." - LitHub
"Banana Yoshimoto is one of our greatest writers; in Dead-End Memories, she is absolutely at her best. Written with tenderness, complexity, generosity, and warmth, Yoshimoto's characters are entirely singular, and also a finely wrought reflection of ourselves. This book is masterful––a portrait of the absurdity, brilliance, horror, and love encompassing daily life––and, in her delivery, Yoshimoto is a master." – Bryan Washington, author of Memorial
"Reading Banana Yoshimoto is like taking a bracing, cleansing bath. These gentle yet formidable stories in Dead-End Memories rinse away the unimportant minutiae of life, leaving behind only the essential." – Ling Ma, author of Severance
This information about Dead-End Memories was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Banana Yoshimoto is the author of the international bestseller Kitchen. She has published ten books in English translation, including Goodbye Tsugumi, Asleep, and Moshi Moshi. Her work has been translated and published in more than thirty countries. In Italy, she won the Scanno Literary Prize in 1993, the Fendissime Literary Prize in 1996, the Maschera d'Argento Prize in 1999, and the Capri Award in 2011. She lives in Tokyo.
Asa Yoneda was born in Osaka and studied language, literature, and translation at the University of Oxford and SOAS University of London. Her translation works include Moshi Moshi by Banana Yoshimoto and The Lonesome Bodybuilder by Yukiko Motoya. She lives in Bristol, U.K.
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