Dead-End Memories

Poignant . . . deeply nostalgic. GLAMOUR Strange, melancholy and beautiful. BRANDON TAYLOR The supreme poet of solitude. SPECTATOR There was no past, no future, no words, nothing - just the light and the yellow and the scent of dry leaves in the sun. Japans internationally celebrated storyteller returns with five stories of healing and hope. Effortlessly beautiful, nostalgic and melancholy, the stories in Dead-End Memories explore the stories of five women who, following sudden and painful events, find solace in the blissful moments in everyday life. The 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 uncles bar after being betrayed by her fiance. As Yoshimotos 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. Review Select Guide Rating Review A poignant collection of stories that delves into themes of loss, love, and healing [...] Yoshimoto once again captivates with her delicate prose and deeply nostalgic insight. a?? Glamour [Yoshimoto] is the supreme poet of solitude, and how it can grip even in the middle of one of the worlds busiest cities . . . There are always the epiphanies, and cake, and chicken with rice, but most of all the tiny kindnesses from other human beings that make life worth persevering with. a?? Spectator Strange, melancholy and beautiful. At the centre of each story is a woman negotiating the quiet fallout of personal history. . . each one feels distinct, rich in its own particular way. . . These stories made me believe again that it was possible to write honestly, rigorously, morally, about the material reality of characters; to write toward human warmth as a reaffirmation of the bonds that tie us together. This is a supremely hopeful book, one that feels important because it shows that happiness, while not always easy, is still a subject worthy of art. -- Brandon Taylor a?? The New York Times Book Review Dead-End Memories is a collection of stories, each of which, while specific and distinct, has at its centre a woman both losing and finding something of herself. In Asa Yonedas elegant translation of this collection-whose title story Yoshimoto herself considers her best-the soothing rhythm of the everyday and the mundane is broken by equally quiet moments of profundity. -- Ilana Masad a?? An NPR Best Book of the Year 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 Gravely beautiful and quietly melancholy, these five stories, elegantly translated by Asa Yoneda, shine a gentle light on the emotional upheaval in the lives of the heartbroken, lost and melancholy. a?? Daily Mail Yoshimoto has an effortless ability to penetrate her characters hearts. a?? The New York Times [Yoshimotos] ability to make everyday events seem romantic is a rare gift. a?? Harpers Bazaar A sure and lyrical writer . . . Yoshimoto transforms the trite into the essential. a?? The New Yorker A master storyteller . . . The sensuality is subtle, masked, and extraordinarily powerful. a?? Chicago Tribune There is no such thing as a stock character in Yoshimotos fiction. She writes utterly without pretense. a?? The Washington Post "oshimotos writing style is economical. Most of her protagonists are, at heart, well-meaning people. And her stories assert, unabashedly, that good stories dont have to have unhappy endings. -- Alison Fincher a?? Asian Review of Books Dead-End Memories follows several women, each one coming back to her life after a traumatic event. Although you will find heartbreak, ghosts, and betrayal humming in