{"title":"Books by Banana Yoshimoto","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780571212101","title":"N.P.","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eN.P.\u003c\/b\u003e is the title of a last collection of short stories by a celebrated Japanese writer.  Written in English while he was living in Boston, the book may never see print in his native Japan: each time a new translator takes up the task, death gets in the way.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eN.P.\u003c\/b\u003e is an extraordinarily powerful story of passion and friendship, the nature of love and the taboos surrounding it, confirming Banana Yoshimoto's place as one of Japan's most important writers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'The voice of young Japan.'  \u003ci\u003eIndependent on Sunday\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43201747058866,"sku":"9780571212101","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780571212101.jpg?v=1786013557"},{"product_id":"9780571205370","title":"Asleep","description":"\u003cp\u003eFROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF \u003ci\u003eKITCHEN\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Enchanting.' \u003ci\u003eTIME OUT\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘The literary equivalent of a lo-fi playlist.’ \u003ci\u003eJAPAN TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Sensitive, refined and graceful.' \u003ci\u003ei-D\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e[Yoshimoto] is the supreme poet of solitude.' \u003ci\u003eSPECTATOR\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMourning her lost lover, a woman finds herself sleepwalking at night.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnother woman, in the midst of an affair with a man whose wife is in a coma, finds herself suddenly unable to stay awake.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd a third woman finds her dreams haunted by an old rival in love.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAcross the nocturnal lives of these three women, Banana Yoshimoto weaves an enchanting ghost story, with a touch of Kafkaesque surrealism.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReaders love Banana Yoshimoto:\u003cbr\u003e⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'I love her ability to make the mundane glorious and the supernatural and unbelievably unlikely commonplace'\u003cbr\u003e⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Yoshimoto is there to show us that there is beauty in the simplest things and truth in life's most brutal moments'\u003cbr\u003e⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'She paints a picture with her words unlike anyone else I've ever read'\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43201803714738,"sku":"9780571205370","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780571205370.jpg?v=1786013518"},{"product_id":"9780571342723","title":"Kitchen","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTHE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Lucid, earnest and disarming.' \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e'A perfect jewel of a novel.' LENA DUNHAM\u003cbr\u003e'The sensuality is extraordinarily powerful.' \u003ci\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKitchen \u003c\/i\u003ecomprises Banana Yoshimoto's two classic tales about mothers, trans identity, bereavement, kitchens, love and tragedy. First published in 1987, it won two of Japan's most prestigious literary prizes, remained at the top of the bestseller lists for over a year and has gone on to be a much-loved international bestseller.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43206063030450,"sku":"9780571342723","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780571342723_01e69084-a84f-4421-bcb7-491a20016a50.jpg?v=1786015330"},{"product_id":"9780571193745","title":"Amrita","description":"\u003cp\u003eA celebrated actress who has died in mysterious and shocking circumstances leaves behind an unconventional extended family that includes an older sister, a woman in her twenties through whose eyes the story unfolds; a young brother who possesses mystical powers; and a fiancé who is writing a novel with uncanny parallels to his own story.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Her novels can have the effect of addictive drugs . . . Pathos, nostalgia, the sense of exquisite sadness at the fleetingness of life are key elements of beauty in Japanese aesthetics, and all are themes central to Yoshimoto's books.'  \u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43399297695922,"sku":"9780571193745","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780571193745_fdef732a-9a45-4c94-baf1-c6d8ce7bff02.jpg?v=1786013454"},{"product_id":"9781640090156","title":"Moshi Moshi","description":"\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Paperback \/ softback","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43403729764530,"sku":"9781640090156","price":15.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781640090156_c306da91-ebeb-48be-b6e1-c1c06c3e3f5b.jpg?v=1786024378"},{"product_id":"9780571382330","title":"Dead-End Memories","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Poignant . . . deeply nostalgic.' \u003ci\u003eGLAMOUR\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Strange, melancholy and beautiful.' BRANDON TAYLOR\u003cbr\u003e'The supreme poet of solitude.' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eSPECTATOR\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThere was no past, no future, no words, nothing – just the light and the yellow and the scent of dry leaves in the sun.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJapan’s internationally celebrated storyteller returns with five stories of healing and hope. Effortlessly beautiful, nostalgic and melancholy, the stories in \u003ci\u003eDead-End Memories \u003c\/i\u003eexplore the stories of five women who, following sudden and painful events, find solace in the blissful moments in everyday life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe daughter of a restaurant owner experiences a budding romance, accompanied by the ghosts of an elderly couple. After a scandalous near-death experience, an editor gains a new lease of life. A woman seeks refuge in the apartment above her uncle’s bar after being betrayed by her fiancé. As Yoshimoto’s gentle, effortless prose reminds us, one true miracle can be as simple as having someone to share a meal with, and happiness is always within us if only we take a moment to see it.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44581784191154,"sku":"9780571382330","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780571382330_fc047d68-bfa9-4c9d-879f-450160b108e9.jpg?v=1786015345"},{"product_id":"9780571382316","title":"The Premonition","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFROM THE INTERNATIONALLY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF \u003ci\u003eKITCHEN\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘Polished, concise, emotionally rewarding.’ DAILY MAIL\u003cbr\u003e‘Exquisite.’ \u003ci\u003eMARIE CLAIRE\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘A timely invitation to explore her unusual, alluring world.’ \u003ci\u003eDAILY TELEGRAPH\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘Casts a delicate spell.’ \u003ci\u003eSPECTATOR\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘Yoshimoto bucks beautifully against convention.’ \u003ci\u003eTHE NEW YORK TIMES BOOKS REVIEW \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI had a premonition of setting out on a journey and getting lost inside a distant tide . . . It was the beginning of summer, and I was nineteen years old.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYayoi lives with her perfect, loving family – something 'like you’d see in a Spielberg movie'. But while her parents tell happy stories of her childhood, she is increasingly haunted by the sense that she's forgotten something important about her past.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54926379581813,"sku":"9780571382316","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780571382316_63b2337d-75d6-4c7f-bf68-a65191506789.jpg?v=1786015344"},{"product_id":"9780571382347","title":"Dead-End Memories","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Poignant . . . deeply nostalgic.' \u003ci\u003eGLAMOUR\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Strange, melancholy and beautiful.' BRANDON TAYLOR\u003cbr\u003e'The supreme poet of solitude.' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eSPECTATOR\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThere was no past, no future, no words, nothing – just the light and the yellow and the scent of dry leaves in the sun.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJapan’s internationally celebrated storyteller returns with five stories of healing and hope. Effortlessly beautiful, nostalgic and melancholy, the stories in \u003ci\u003eDead-End Memories \u003c\/i\u003eexplore the stories of five women who, following sudden and painful events, find solace in the blissful moments in everyday life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe daughter of a restaurant owner experiences a budding romance, accompanied by the ghosts of an elderly couple. After a scandalous near-death experience, an editor gains a new lease of life. A woman seeks refuge in the apartment above her uncle’s bar after being betrayed by her fiancé. As Yoshimoto’s gentle, effortless prose reminds us, one true miracle can be as simple as having someone to share a meal with, and happiness is always within us if only we take a moment to see it.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55897305121141,"sku":"9780571382347","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780571382347_78316a47-7ca9-4226-a2b5-567c3ed0a032.jpg?v=1786015346"},{"product_id":"9780571212842","title":"Goodbye Tsugumi","description":"\u003cp\u003eFROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF \u003ci\u003eKITCHEN\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘The voice of young Japan.’ \u003ci\u003eINDEPENDENT\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘The literary equivalent of a lo-fi playlist.’ \u003ci\u003eJAPAN TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘[Yoshimoto] is the supreme poet of solitude.' \u003ci\u003eSPECTATOR\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAn elegiac story of two young cousins coming of age at the Japanese seaside.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMaria has grown up at the seaside alongside her cousin Tsugumi, a lifelong invalid, charismatic, spoiled and occasionally cruel. Now Maria is moving to Tokyo to go to university.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen Tsugumi invites Maria to spend a last summer by the sea, a restful idyll becomes a time of dramatic growth as Tsugumi finds love, and Maria learns the true meaning of home and family.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReaders love Banana Yoshimoto:\u003cbr\u003e⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'I love her ability to make the mundane glorious and the supernatural and unbelievably unlikely commonplace'\u003cbr\u003e⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Yoshimoto is there to show us that there is beauty in the simplest things and truth in life's most brutal moments'\u003cbr\u003e⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'She paints a picture with her words unlike anyone else I've ever read'\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56291260465525,"sku":"9780571212842","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780571212842_29387cb2-9381-449e-bd29-769f478a4bbc.jpg?v=1786013561"},{"product_id":"9781905583577","title":"The Book of Tokyo","description":"\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Paperback \/ softback","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56308999684469,"sku":"9781905583577","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781905583577_37314685-3d9c-4fee-8026-d872502bf8f9.jpg?v=1786029197"},{"product_id":"mittens-and-pity","title":"Mittens and Pity","description":"It's a city with a mysterious magnetism, where things seem to be cocooned in a beautiful, illusive haze - Where everybody lives in a dream.   These hauntingly beautiful stories explore the lives of six women who, in confronting formative or traumatic moments in their pasts, try to find some kind of peace. A couple takes a honeymoon to Helsinki after both of their mothers, who had been against the marriage, passed away. A daughter who has dedicated her young adult life to caring for her sick mother, travels to Taipei after her death, slowly adjusting to a new sense of freedom and loneliness. Seeking closure from the accidental death of her best friend, a woman follows the last footstep of her best friend in Rome and encounters the person who has been holding her friend's final message. Deeply immersive, Yoshimoto's deceptively simple prose beautifully evokes the small moments and memories which illuminate the transience of life.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57499267039605,"sku":"9780571391905","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780571391905.jpg?v=1786694582"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-banana-yoshimoto.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}