Banana Yoshimoto (よしもと ばなな or 吉本 ばなな) is the pen name of Mahoko Yoshimoto (吉本 真秀子), a Japanese contemporary writer. She writes her name in hiragana. (See also 吉本芭娜娜 (Chinese).)
Along with having a famous father, poet Takaaki Yoshimoto, Banana's sister, Haruno Yoiko, is a well-known cartoonist in Japan. Growing up in a liberal family, she learned the value of independence from a young age.
She graduated from Nihon University's Art College, majoring in Literature. During that time, she took the pseudonym "Banana" after her love of banana flowers, a name she recognizes as both "cute" and "purposefully androgynous."
Despite her success, Yoshimoto remains a down-to-earth and obscure figure. Whenever she appears in public she eschews make-up and dresses simply. She keeps her personal life guarded, and reveals little about her certified Rolfing practitioner, Hiroyoshi Tahata and son (born in 2003). Instead, she talks about her writing. Each day she takes half an hour to write at her computer, and she says, "I tend to feel guilty because I write these stories almost for fun."
Un poquito turbio como cualquier libro de esta tía pero una prosa muy bonita y unos personajes interesantes! Trata como siempre la pérdida, pero también otros temas cotidianos como el barrio en el que se desarrolla la historia, con sus tiendas, restaurantes y vecinos. De cómo la pérdida se puede sobrellevar mejor o peor precisamente por estos espacios compartidos con la misma gente de siempre en la que de repente falta alguien. Quitando las cosas un poco turbias está bastante bien, Banana Yoshimoto escribe súper bonito y me consigue enganchar a cualquier cosa que cuente.
A light and easy to read book. The story is a bit cliche but it is being presented in a comfy and fresh way. Or maybe I simply enjoy certain Japanese female values constructed by Ms Yoshimoto.