Banana Yoshimoto reading list: Books mentioned in Amrita

Saipan where Sakumi, Ryuichiro, and Yoshio went on a trip.

“Clearly there is a spot somewhere inside our heads that records the feelings we had when we read the book, and it stays with us forever.” – Sakumi

Unlike Haruki Murakami, Banana Yoshimoto rarely drops names of books or authors in her works. Most of the time, she explores the thought process, feelings and memories of characters. However, a number of books are mentioned in Amrita, which is the author’s longest work to date (366 pages).

One of the book moments in Amrita is the protagonist’s boyfriend saying that he tends to bring the same book whenever he travels and pulling out a battered copy of Truman Capote’s Music for Chameleons. Somehow I can relate to that as I always bring a book when I travel as reading is the perfect way to kill time in airports and planes. I do not really have a go-to book, but I always reach for a light read.

Here are the book titles mentioned in Amrita.


Sign up to subscribe to my newsletter

Leave a Reply