The Curious Kitten at the Chibineko Kitchen

The Curious Kitten at the Chibineko Kitchen / Yuta Takahashi
translated from the Japanese by Cat Anderson 
NY: Penguin, 2025, c2020.
192 p.

This novel lies in the 'magical cafe' realm of Japanese fiction, but a little different - not a coffee shop but rather a seaside restaurant that serves evocative meals from a person's life, in order to draw back the dead. And recipes included! There is a cat as well, one which seems to be part of the conduit to the dead for diners at this restaurant. 

It's told in three sections; beginning with Kotoko, a young woman who is seeking out the restaurant after hearing that its kagezen (traditional meals offered in remembrance of loved ones) can actually restore them to you briefly. Her older brother died protecting her, and she feels a lot of guilt - she's hoping that this will be real, and help her. 

She meets Kai, the young chef, who introduces her to the kitten Chibi who is an integral part of the cafe. And she gets her meal - as she starts to eat, things get hazy and then she sees her brother. This experience draws her back to the kitchen, and in the next two sections she plays a bit of a role as well. The second story is a young boy who feels bad that he was mean to a classmate who died; she liked him and he made fun of her. He gets a chance to apologize here. And then the third section features an old man living near the cafe. Kai wants to take a meal to him, as he can't get around much. Kotoko helps him, and in this long night together, both of their lives are changed as well. 

I thought this was a lovely read, just different enough to appeal. And the short recipes are a great addition, especially for Western fans of the translations. There were a few little things about it I didn't like - particularly the second story about the young boy. According to the 'rules' of this return of the dead, they can only come back once. So why did a random classmate get to experience it, just so that he could feel better about his rude words, instead of  say, her parents? A personal peeve there! 

But this was a quiet read that I enjoyed. The setting is a tiny seaside location off the trainline, rather than a city, and there was lots of beauty even in the melancholic nature of the storyline. There is another volume to come, and I think I will be reading that one as well.