A review by tristesse
Dead-End Memories: Stories by Banana Yoshimoto

4.25

 
"I was also learning that every single person in the world had been hurt by their family at some point. I wasn't special at all—some people dealt with it well, and some didn't, but that was the only difference, and either way, we were all nourished and cherished by our families, and at the same time limited and defined by them—that was what it meant to be human, I understood."


This book is made up of five short stories. Each is bizarre in its own way, like other Japanese literatures, but I learn a lot from every single one of them. The short stories are as follows:
1. House of Ghosts 4/5
It's about a person living in a haunted building. After developing a relationship with a girl, both of them decide to send off the ghosts with one last favorite meal of theirs as an offering. I think it was very thoughtful.
2. Mama! 3/5
Of a daughter reminiscing her childhood. She begins pondering the whereabouts of her mama upon a misfortune that befell her unexpectedly.
3. Not Warm At All 4/5
Tells about a boy who yearns for the "light" from a small family of a girl he befriends with. How he thinks that warmth doesn't come from bright lights, rather it's radiating from the people that shine.
4. Tomo-chan's Happiness 3/5
Focusing on Tomo-chan and how she makes peace with the world, finding happiness in even the smallest things.
5. Dead-end Memories 5/5
About holding on to something that's already slipping from your fingertips and learning how to live a life again. I love this one best.