I just finished Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto.  Apparently this book was a big sensation in Japan when it was published in 1988.  Hmm, well, maybe something’s lost in translation because this book just didn’t do it for me.  It’s actually 2 short novellas.  The main one is about a girl who goes to live with a neighbor and his transvestite father after her grandmother dies and her relationship with these 2 people.  To me, it struck me as rather trite and amateurish, and full of cliches.  Yoshimoto was only in her early 20s when she wrote this, and to me, it shows.  But it was an easy read and I got through it rather quickly.

Anyhoo, I’m also reading The Making of the African Queen by Katherine Hepburn, which is about the actress’s experience in Africa making the movie (which I looove).  Ms. Hepburn is (was) quite the wit -she’s got me in stitches with some of her sardonic quips.  It’s quite delightful.