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M. Ortabasi
G. Tourino
WL201
Sample MLA Annotated Bibliography
Topic: Women in Popular Culture – the fiction of Banana Yoshimoto
Thesis: Banana Yoshimoto’s first novel, Kitchen, was a popular success when it was first published
in 1988, but the response of critics has been mixed – both in Japan and abroad. This paper will
read Kitchen in tandem with other works by Yoshimoto, with a particular focus on the youth
culture that is the trademark of her works. The paper will argue that Yoshimoto’s novels and
short stories, rather than simply promoting a shallow view of Japanese youth culture (as they are
sometimes accused of doing), instead offer a fantastic, fictional view of contemporary Japanese
society in which young Japanese have the freedom to explore their developing identities as adults.
Ackerman, Holly. “Banana Yoshimoto.” Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. James
Draper. Detroit: Gale, 1995. 84:420-431.
This Journal provides a brief introduction and bibliography of Yoshimoto’s major works,
but the majority of the article summarizes various criticisms of her writing. Over ten
critics are represented, and there is a balance between advocates and detractors of her
work. This was the source that I used to contextualize my own view of her writing.
DiAntonio, Robert. “Bananamania.” The Jerusalem Post (1993): 19 March. 1993,
LexisNexis. Simon Fraser U Lib. 27 Jan. 2009.
DiAntonio gives a positive review of Yoshimoto’s novel, Kitchen. He briefly introduces the
“Bananamania” phenomenon in Japan (i.e. the overwhelming popularity Yoshimoto’s
works have enjoyed) and then gives a summary of the novel. He also discusses themes in
the novel: death and renewal particularly. I used this source for information about the
response in Japan and as an example of a positive critique that addressed the novel’s more
literary (rather than popular) qualities.
McInerney, Jay. “Sayonara Flower Arranging: Japanese Writers have found their subject:
Japan.” Time Asia 157.17 (2001): 30 April. 2001.
<http://www.time.com/time/asia/features/japan_view/books.html>
This is a very interesting article on various Japanese writers who all offer their own vision
of Japan in their writings. Banana Yoshimoto is discussed as an author who is at ease with
“Japan’s position relative to the rest of the world” (McInerney, 2). This source provided
me information about themes common in Yoshimoto’s writing, as well as a particular view
of the sort of “Japan” she presents to her readers.
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Maynard, Senko. “A Poetics of Grammar: Playing with narrative perspectives and voices in
Japanese and translation texts.” Poetics 26 (1999): 115-141.
This article, among other things, discusses the “translatability” of Yoshimoto’s texts, and
the difficulties that exist. Although the article is complicated and goes very much into the
linguistics of translation, I was able to take from it some general information about the
difficulties of translating from Japanese to English. It is not directly pertinent to my paper,
but gave me some insight into the differences between reading the text in the original and
in translation.
Parker, Patricia. “World literature in review: Japan.” World Literature Today 69.4 (1995): 877,
Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Simon Fraser U Lib. 27 Jan. 2009.
This is a review of Yoshimoto’s book Lizard, which is the compilation of short stories I
will discuss in tandem with her novel Kitchen. Parker gives summaries of the short stories
and then discusses some criticism. This source provided me more information about this
other primary text, and Parker’s summary of critics’ responses revealed some similarity
with the criticisms of Kitchen as well.
Slethaug, Gordon. “Yoshimoto, Banana 1964- .” Contemporary Authors: New Revision
Series. Ed. Susan M. Trosky. Detroit: Gale, 2001. 98: 447-449.
This source provides background personal information on Banana Yoshimoto and her
works. It lists her writings and awards and gives a summary of some critics’ responses to
Banana’s fictional works. I will use this source for basic information on Yoshimoto and
her career.
Treat, John Whittier. “Yoshimoto Banana Writes Home: Shojo Culture and the Nostalgic
Subject.” Journal of Japanese Studies 19.2 (1993): 353-387.
This article is an in-depth analysis of Yoshimoto’s fiction, especially Kitchen. Treat
focuses on Yoshimoto’s depiction of youth – particularly young girls, called shojo in
Japanese. John Treat feels that Yoshimoto’s writing is popular and commercial,
arguing that her portrayal of the shojo is in tune with the general fetishization and
commodification of young girls in contemporary Japanese culture. He does, however,
offer interesting possibilities for understanding why the shojo is so iconic in today’s
Japan.
Yoshimoto, Banana. Kitchen. New York: Washington Square Press, 1988.
Yoshimoto, Banana. Lizard. New York: Washington Square Press, 1993.
These two compilations of Banana Yoshimoto’s writing are my primary sources for this
paper. Lizard is a grouping of short stories that all have a common theme of people with
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bad childhood experiences. Kitchen, Yoshimoto’s most popular novel, is a more extended
narrative about a troubled young girl.
Additional Resources:
SFU Library: How to Write an Annotated Bibliography
http://www.lib.sfu.ca/researchhelp/writing/annotatedbib.htm
Cornell University Library: How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography
http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/skill28.htm
Lesley University Library: MLA Format for Annotated Bibliographies
http://www.lesley.edu/library/guides/citation/mla_annotated.html
University of Massachusetts Libraries: MLA Citation Handout
http://www.massasoit.mass.edu/library/citations/MLA_Citation_Handout.pdf