Dead-End Memories: Stories

Banana Yoshimoto

Aug 2022 · Catapult

About this ebook

A New York Times Notable Book

"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, The New York Times Book Review

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.”

Ratings and reviews

What an incredibly unique group of stories! Banana Yoshimoto captured my attention from the outset, with Dead-End Memories. Her lyrical and engaging prose is simply lovely. Each of the women in the stories are facing life changing events. Mainly they're centered around relationships with men, and finding their own personal strength. My favorite is the one where the office works gets poisoned by curry intended for another victim.

About the author

BANANA YOSHIMOTO is the author of the international bestseller Kitchen. She has published ten books in English translation, including Goodbye Tsugumi, Asleep, and, most recently, 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.