Banana Yoshimoto’s Followers (9,228)

Banana Yoshimoto

Born

in Tokyo, Japan

July 24, 1964

Website

http://www.yoshimotobanana.com

Twitter

y_banana

Genre

Fiction, Contemporary

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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 dre ...more

Combine Editions
Banana Yoshimoto’s books

Average rating: 3.75 · 281,821 ratings · 32,267 reviews · 234 distinct works • Similar authors

	Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto, Megan Backus (Translator), Noguchi Rika 3.89 avg rating — 129,280 ratings — published 1988 — 18 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Asleep by Banana Yoshimoto, Michael Emmerich (Translator) 3.77 avg rating — 15,900 ratings — published 1989 — 62 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Goodbye Tsugumi 3.77 avg rating — 15,510 ratings — published 1989 — 65 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	N.P by Banana Yoshimoto, Ann Sherif (Translator) 3.54 avg rating — 12,826 ratings — published 1990 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Lake by Banana Yoshimoto, Michael Emmerich (Translator) 3.57 avg rating — 11,558 ratings — published 2005 — 46 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Lizard 3.74 avg rating — 10,595 ratings — published 1993 — 56 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Premonition by Banana Yoshimoto, Asa Yoneda (Translator) 3.35 avg rating — 11,373 ratings — published 1988 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dead-End Memories: Stories by Banana Yoshimoto, Asa Yoneda (Translator) 3.89 avg rating — 9,358 ratings — published 2003 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Moshi Moshi by Banana Yoshimoto, Gala Maria Follaco (Translator) 3.70 avg rating — 7,928 ratings — published 2010 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hardboiled & Hard Luck by Banana Yoshimoto, Michael Emmerich (Translator) 3.75 avg rating — 7,484 ratings — published 1999 — 37 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Banana Yoshimoto…

Series by Banana Yoshimoto

王国 [Ōkoku] (4 books)
by

Banana Yoshimoto,

Gala Maria Follaco (Translator)

3.42 avg rating — 2,796 ratings

吹上奇譚 (4 books)
by

Banana Yoshimoto,

吉本ばなな

2.83 avg rating — 2,207 ratings

Quotes by Banana Yoshimoto (?)

“Sometimes people put up walls, not to keep others out, but to see who cares enough to break them down.”
― Banana Yoshimoto

809 likes

“As I grow older, much older, I will experience many things, and I will hit rock bottom again and again. Again and again I will suffer; again and again I will get back on my feet. I will not be defeated. I won't let my spirit be destroyed.”
― Banana Yoshimoto, Kitchen

tags: defeated, destroyed, older, spirit, suffer

633 likes

“That's the advantage of insomnia. People who go to be early always complain that the night is too short, but for those of us who stay up all night, it can feel as long as a lifetime. You get a lot done”
― Banana Yoshimoto, N.P

tags: insomnia, night

618 likes

See all Banana Yoshimoto's quotes »

Polls

Which book should be our March group read? (Translated Fiction)

Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto (Japanese)

7 votes 35.0%

Cassandra by Christa Wolf (German)

4 votes 20.0%

Portrait in Sepia by Isabel Allende (Spanish)

3 votes 15.0%

Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar (French)

2 votes 10.0%

Eva Luna by Isabel Allende (Spanish)

2 votes 10.0%

Paradise of the Blind by Dương Thu Hương (Vietnamese)

2 votes 10.0%

Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan (French)

0 votes 0.0%

20 total votes

3 comments

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