The following version of this story was used to create this study guide: Ishiguro, Kazuo. “A Family Supper.” Esquire, March 1990, pp. 207 – 211. https://classic.esquire.com/article/19900301135/print

The story begins with the protagonist describing fugu (an edible fish) and its dangerous properties. He then explains how his mother died recently because she ate fugu and was poisoned by it. The protagonist returned to Tokyo from California to see his sister, Kikuko, and his father. Upon the protagonist’s arrival, he made small talk with his father, talking about his father’s business partner, Watanabe, who killed himself and his family.

When Kikuko arrived, she made some awkward small talk with the protagonist and their father before she went to the garden with the protagonist to have a more open conversation. They discussed their lives, childhood, and familial relationships, recalling events like when the protagonist thought there was a ghost living in the garden near the well.

After this conversation, the protagonist’s father called Kikuko in to the kitchen and told her to help him with the final preparations. While she did this, the protagonist’s father took the protagonist to another room to discuss his regrets about how he raised the protagonist.

When the food was ready, the father encouraged the protagonist to eat much of the fish that he and Kikuko had prepared. During the meal, the protagonist noticed a photograph of his mother, who resembled the ghost he used to see when he was younger. After the meal, Kikuko prepared some tea while the protagonist and his father spoke about the protagonist’s future plans. His father asked whether he would return to California or stay in Tokyo.

Hints throughout the story suggest that the father plans to kill himself and his children with fugu.