Many readers have found that Yoshimoto's novels remind them of Mexican writer Laura Esquivel's best-selling novel Like Water for Chocolate, published by Doubleday in 1992. As in Kitchen, food is the primary cure for love and loss in this book, which is structured like a cookbook.

At the same time that Banana Yoshimoto's writing was capturing international attention for its portrayals of women in modern Tokyo, Tama Janowitz was establishing the same sort of reputation for her characters in New York City. Her 1986 collection of short stories, Slaves of New York, offers a vastly different look at the other side of the world.

One of the most famous Japanese novelists to be printed in English is Tanizaki Junichiro, whose novels mainly explored the struggle between traditional values and modern culture. His most famous novel, Some Prefer Nettles, concerns an unhappy marriage...