Matcha on Monday

 

Matcha on Monday / Michiko Aoyama
trans. from the Japanese by E. Madison Shimoda
NY: Hanover Square Press, 2026, c2021.
208 p.

My final review for WIT Month this year is Matcha on Monday, the second volume of the Marble Cafe series. I loved this book. I found it stronger and more resonant than the first, which I also enjoyed. But this one focused in a little more intently and so the storyline was tighter, and it also made the concept from the first novel -- that we are all connected -- even more explicit and emotionally moving. 

The Marble Cafe is a tiny shop is a quiet part of Tokyo that has a regular clientele. Except for on Mondays, when it's closed. But one Monday, a young woman is having a day full of bad luck and decides to treat herself, forgetting it's Monday. When she gets there she discovers that there is a little pop-up matcha cafe going on, and decides to go in and check it out. She is strangely intrigued by the non-communicative tea expert, the son of a tea wholesaler family from Kyoto who is testing out their teas in Tokyo. Luckily for her, he will be managing the new shop opening in Tokyo soon. 

This book also follows characters into the next story, once they appear in one they are likely to show up in the next one. We meet a lingerie designer/shop owner (loved her story), a befuddled husband who has angered his wife, a theatre artist who has a difficult relationship with her grandmother, and a singer going through a breakup. And The Master reappears in this one too. While the first book had its stories organized by colour, this one moves through a calendar year, as well as moving between Tokyo and Kyoto. 

I really enjoyed the thoughtful conversations that the characters had. Everyone is so civilized somehow, even while going through emotional ups and downs. I loved reading about the garment designer, the tea expert, Kyoto, puppets and more. So much in this one but I was especially struck by the Master's explanation of how we never know the connections that led to our meeting another person - because someone far back in the chain set something in motion, we can meet today, and we'll never know where it started -- and equally, how what we do today will affect those around us down the line. The smallest gesture or action may have a huge effect on someone's lives, and we'll never know it. It was a touching story, and I found the gentle connections between characters appealing and comforting. A new fave. 

Hot Chocolate on Thursday

Hot Chocolate on Thursday / Michiko Aoyama
trans. from the Japanese by E. Madison Shimoda
NY: Hanover Square Press, 2025, c2017.
208 p.

I first read Aoyama via her novel What You Are Looking For is in the Library. That one was a bit quirky but I still liked it enough to want to try this one, the start of a series. This novel hit my interests right now, and I really enjoyed it. 

It is set in a little cafe in a quiet part of Tokyo, the Marble Cafe. It is owned by someone known as The Master, but run by a young man who acts as manager. As it opens we meet a regular, a woman who comes in alone to write letters, always ordering hot chocolate. The manager is intrigued by her and wonders about her, not knowing that she notices him as well.  

The book is about the connections made in everyday ways - through her writing, to a friend who has moved overseas; to others in the shop connecting accidentally through small things; to the woman who receives the letters in Australia, and her life connecting in small ways to a food truck proprietor there. There is always food, and the constant theme of the ways that people's lives bump into one another and affect one another without any plan or intent. The story ranges widely, moving from the Marble Cafe to Australia, by following a chain of characters. A character from each story moves forward to be the main character in the next episode, and so all the stories and people are linked even if they don't know how. And then the story circles back to the Hot Chocolate woman and the cafe manager in the final chapter. 

This was soothing, expansive and I loved the concept. While it is brief and covers a lot of characters, I think that was the point - rather than digging in deeply to one life, it was showing the ways so many lives brush up against one another. I thought it was a delight, and of course wanted hot chocolate even in the midst of my summer! 

 

The Amberglow Candy Store

The Amberglow Candy Store / Hiyoko Kurisu
trans. from the Japanese by Matt Treyvaud
NY: Scribner, 2025, c2022.
208 p.

I enjoyed this unusual read! It falls into the same genre of Japanese novel that I've been reading a lot of lately, but it's a bit different. It features life lessons, a shop, melancholy friendships, for example, like many others, but it also includes a main character who is half-fox - a part of the otherworldly element of Japanese folklore. 

Kogetsu owns the Amberglow Candy Shop on Gloaming Lane, a strange shopping area that humans only stumble upon when they need it. Most of the shops are closed up, and people wander down this street until they find the candy store with its very handsome proprietor. They choose a candy that promises something - luck, confidence, relationship help and so on - and when they return to their normal lives they find that eating the candy really helps them. Most of the time it's a placebo effect, though: the solution has been in their grasp the whole time and the candy gives them the confidence to solve their own problem. 

Like many of these books, it's told in short chapters dealing with each character's encounter and resultant life lesson. It's a bit quirky, with some light humour thanks to Kogetsu's misunderstandings of human behaviour. And the magical element actually felt quite magical and ancient. I thought that this book had more of the feel of Miyazaki films or folklore inspired characters than any other Japanese novel I've read recently. I really enjoyed the feel of this one, it had a great atmosphere. And seeing people learn life lessons softly and without a lot of conflict was nice too. The final chapter gives more of Kogetsu's own story, and was a nice way to tie up this book, with an opportunity for him to also learn more about life. Enjoyable though a quiet and light read. 

 

How to Hold Someone in Your Heart

 

How to Hold Someone In Your Heart / Mizuki Tsujimura
trans. from the Japanese by Yuki Tejima
NY: Scribner, 2026, c2019.
224 p.

Ok, so I enjoyed the first book in this series, Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon, so much that I immediately found book two in Libby and read it right away! This is a sweet series about 'the go-between', a young man who connects the dead and the living for final meetings. 

This book takes place a few years after the first volume. Ayumi is no longer a teenager; he's a young career man working for a wooden toy company, while still carrying out his duties as the go-between. Just like the first novel, though, he encounters five people he needs to connect with those deceased, and one friend who has sufferered a recent bereavement making Ayumi wonder if he should offer his services unasked for (in the end, no need). 

We have two mothers wanting to see their daughters who died too young, a young film star wanting to get some answers from his deadbeat dad who left their family when the boy was only two, an eccentric academic wanting to meet the subject of his lifelong historical studies, and an 85 yr old chef who has asked to meet a girl from his youth numerous time over the past decades but this time is accepted (with the deciding message Ayumi is asked to pass on to her: "the rascal Hachiya has turned eighty-five")

Each one brings some reflection on life, regrets, love, secrets, and so on -- but also some less emotional topics like what one's legacy will be -- for example, after his experience, the academic ponders if anyone will ask to see him when he is dead. This meeting also questions how truth gets passed down, and how reliable history is. I liked the inclusion of this less emotional meeting to balance out the rest. 

I also liked that this volume focused more on Ayumi and his own life and development, from his acceptance of his role and his place in his family, to his job and a potential romantic interest. It added more of a narrative throughline to this story, and I hope there will be another book in the series, too. I find this author's style thoughtful, mostly easy reading, great for comfort reading. 

Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon

Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon / Mizuki Tsujimura
trans. from the Japanese by Yuki Tejima
NY: Scribner, 2025, c2010.
256 p.

I'm not sure why there seem to be so many Japanese books about people meeting up with the dead, but there are quite a few that I've read recently. This is one that stuck with me, featuring a "go-between" who arranges meetings between the living and the dead. 

You only find the go-between if you are meant to, and you can then request a meeting with someone you want to talk to one more time. The go-between will pass on the message but the dead person may refuse, or they may have already spoken to someone -- and you only get one chance, either way. The living can only request it once, and the dead can only accept once, so they must be careful to choose wisely. 

In this book, we follow four characters all wanting to speak to someone deceased -- a young woman from Tokyo who wants to speak to a TV star who she didn't actually know, a self-important eldest son who wants to see his mother only to ask where the deeds to a plot of land are; a teenager blaming herself for her best friend’s death; and a sad businessman needing answers about why his fiancée disappeared days after he proposed.

Each story is a bit melancholy, although the one featuring the teen besties didn't go as I'd expected - still so much teen drama even after death! And there is some kind of lesson in each, as they seek closure (not always given). In each we learn more about the teenaged go-between, until more is shared about his story near the end. 

I liked this one; it was unexpected and well developed. The stories weren't predictable or saccharine, there was a bit of darkness, a bit of intrigue. The set-up was good and there is a second volume in this series that I'm going to search out too, and see if this conceit can hold up over another book. But this one is worth trying if you like this genre - pretty well written and good concept! 

 

Hooked

Hooked / Asako Yuzuki
trans. from the Japanese by Polly Barton 
NY: Ecco, 2026, c2015.
400 p.

This is another Japanese novel that looks at unequal relationships and includes social media's unrealities as part of the story. But this is much longer than Idol Burning, which I just talked about yesterday. 

In Hooked, Yuzuki follows Eriko, a young woman working for a fish importing company. She seems to have it all together - her career is successful (she even gets sent to Africa on a mission to find a Nile Perch processing plant for her company), she is well groomed and efficient, but there is something missing. She can not seem to connect with other women, despite really wanting a friend. She can be obsessive and overwhelm others, like her school friend who still lives nearby and seems to haunt her, showing up when least wanted, to remind Eriko of her previous actions. 

But now Eriko has found a friend -- a popular blogger, Shoko, who she's been following for a while, carefully leaving comments and getting to know her online persona. Eriko figures out where this blogger will be at a specific time, thanks to her meticulous study of the blog, and "runs into" her casually. Their friendship starts to grow, with dinners and coffee dates -- but Shoko starts to feel like Eriko is more of a stalker than a friend, and puts her off, starting a new spiral for Eriko. 

This was a great read, with some unhinged characters, and a look at personas and the realities beneath. Shoko's perfect blogging life, and her apparently solid marriage are shaken through these events; she's really not exactly who she says she is. And Eriko's facade is quickly shattered when she feels rejected. Lots of fascinating psychological content in both storylines! 

There are metaphors related to the Nile Perch that Eriko imports (an invasive species) and to social media and self-presentation, and everything kind of twines together. It's a bit of a domestic drama, with frenemies and toxic behaviours in abundance. But still some sympathies for these imperfect characters. It kept moving in directions I wasn't expecting, and I had to pay attention -- I found it compelling reading, with the 400 pages feeling much shorter. I liked her writing style and aesthetic, so will definitely have to go back and read her first book Butter, a best-seller about food and a female murderer.

Idol Burning

Idol Burning / Rin Usami
trans. from the Japanese by Asa Yoneda
NY: HarperVia, 2022, c2020.
144 p.

Another short novella, from a Japanese author interested in fandom and what it can do to a person's sense of self. I listened to this one, which I think worked really well - there are strings of social media comments included in the storyline and the way that the narrator read them made it seem so fresh and immediate. I know some readers haven't enjoyed this structural addition but as an audiobook I thought it was an interesting element.

The story follows Akari, a socially isolated teen with learning disabilities and difficult relationships. She withdraws from life, and from her family who struggles to help her. Her focus is on her 'oshi', Masaki, a pop idol. She writes a blog about him, scouring the internet and magazines for every detail about him, and has a following whose comments seem to give her the approval she needs. But then Masaki tumbles from his pedestal, accused of hitting a woman who is possibly his girlfriend. 

The way that this intense fandom affects both Masaki and Akari is explored in the narrative - they don't know one another but Akari's need to justify his actions and thus her own, is part of the parasocial fixation she has with him. The book looks at mental health, online fandom & its spaces, loneliness, teen alienation from life and many other similar things, all through the lens of oshi culture. 

I found it a good read, although some of the themes could have used a little more length in the narrative to be fleshed out, for more impact. Akari's life is described quietly, but gives the reader a strong impression of the crisis she's going through. Her isolation, partly self created, is dramatic and she finally has to hit bottom to realize it. I felt like the story mostly communicated this, although the reader has to be committed to the story arc as it does move a little slowly for such a short book. Still, I thought it illuminated a corner of life that I hadn't considered much before, and found lots to think about here. 

 

The Woman Dies

The Woman Dies / Aoka Matsuda
trans. from the Japanese by Polly Barton
NY: Europa, 2025, c2016.
160 p.

This was an entertaining read, a collection of 52 short stories (some only a few sentences long, flash fiction, really) all looking at the pervasive presence of sexism in Japanese society. Matsuda is not holding back, and tells her tales with both sharp edges and black humour.  I really enjoyed this book, there were such clever structural elements to admire, and the stories were a bit off kilter, requiring the reader to stop short and sometimes read over a story again to get the commentary clear. I love a read that both amuses and makes you think about your perceptions. 

I also enjoyed Matsuda's earlier collection of stories inspired by Japanese folklore, which I read in 2021 -- Where the Wild Ladies Are. That's a bit more traditional in format but has the same edge. I really recommend her books if you like a feminist sensibility that is both highly intelligent and sarcastic. 

This collection has a couple of longer pieces but mostly there are brief reflections and observations. The title refers to a piece remarking on the normalization of violence against women in film, which is something still seen in many films. The joy in this book was the structure and writing, for me, which added to the sense of social critique and skewed perspective. I thought the style and the content worked together to create a strong thematic line. Really liked this one, and raced through it, although I will probably go back and sit with some of the stories a bit longer to really reflect on them. After all, there are 52 pieces, one a week would be a good start to any intellectual week! 

Reading in Translation Month: Japanese & Korean Books read since August 2025

I have been attempting to read more women in translation year round, ever since I started participating in #WITMonth way back in 2015. Some years I get a lot read and reviewed, sometimes I don't get much read, sometimes I read a fair bit but don't review! 

This year I've read a lot of Japanese and Korean books - here are the ones written by women that I've both read and reviewed since last August. Some of my unreviewed titles will be showing up this month as well :)

We'll Prescribe You Another Cat / Syou Ishida

The Lantern of Lost Memories / Sanaka Hiiragi 

Dinner at the Night Library / Hika Harada 

Every Day I Read / Hwang Bo-Reum

Best Wishes from the Full Moon Coffee Shop / Mai Mochizuki

More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop

More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop / Satoshi Yagisawa
trans. from the Japanese by Eric Ozawa
NY: HarperPerennial, 2024, c2011.
176 p.

I couldn't wait, after reading the first book in this set last week - I had to search out book two. Thankfully my library had it, so I brought it home and read it over a couple of days. I had to stretch this one out a little more than the first one, as it is quite melancholy and I needed a break before the conclusion. 

In this novel, Takako is reminiscing; the story is related from her future vantage point. I find this style a bit melancholic by nature, and this story has some sad parts in it for sure. It takes place 3 years after Takako left the bookshop for a design job, but she still comes back and hangs out at the bookshop and the coffee shops in the neighbourhood. She's now dating Wada, from the end of the first book, and along with her friend Tomo, has a life outside work -- something she had to create consciously for herself. As an aside, the description of Takako's romantic relationships seems unusual -- very formal, with not much communication on her part as to what's going on -- I'm wondering if this is a Japanese norm that I'm missing, or just a man writing a woman character. Anyhow!

Uncle Satoru and Aunt Momoko are still running the bookshop, but things are about to change, and Takako has to help Satoru come to terms with the way life is going. There is less talk about specific books and authors in this one than in the first, and more about the lives and relationships of the characters. Once again I was reminded of Banana Yoshimoto's style. 

I liked this one, although marginally less than the first one. It made me cry, and I found some lovely bits in it, though. This ties up the story of the Morisaki Bookshop, but the author has another series set in a cafe. Perhaps I will try that next. I find his style quite appealing and readable.  

 

If Cats Disappeared from the World

 

If Cats Disappeared from the World / Genki Kawamura
trans. from the Japanese by Eric Selland
London: Picador, 2018, c2012.
202 p.

I read this little book last week; I've owned for a long time but have just picked it up now. It's funny how many books like this I have on my shelves - ones that have been patiently waiting their turn, and once I open them I can't stop reading. 

This is a short novel, just 202 short pages. It is loosely in the form of a letter, written by a young man who is all alone in the world aside from his cat Cabbage. He's just found out that he has a brain tumour and only weeks to live. But his week turns surreal as the Devil appears to him and tells him that he can choose one thing to disappear from the world in exchange for another day of life. 

He gets a few extra days but the idea of exchanging things starts to pall. What is life worth living for and what parts make it all worthwhile? When the Devil suggests that cats disappear next, our narrator realizes he has a vital choice to make. 

Throughout this short narrative, told in a confessional, almost offhand style, deep questions are raised. We learn that the narrator's mother has died and that he is estranged from his father; he has a loose connection with an old girlfriend, which is important to the story. But his closest emotional relationship is with Cabbage. And through his reflections, we learn more about his past and his issues with his father. 

I found this a touching story, on the edge of being too sentimental but counterbalanced by the humour and irreverence of the Devil and the narrator's reactions. Even with the brevity and direct style, it causes the reader to think more deeply about what is worth cherishing in life, especially when you're about to leave it. I'm not sure why it hit me right now, but it did have an emotional impact. I thought the ending was perfect, resolving the interiority and isolation of this character's story with a resonant visual image of reconnection. Really interesting read, with some memorable moments. 

 

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop / Satoshi Yagisawa
trans. from the Japanese by Eric Ozawa
NY: Harper Perennial, 2023, c2010. 
150 p.

I read this sweet book in a day -- it's short and easy to read, even with some emotional heft to it. It reminded me a lot more of Banana Yoshimoto's style than the more recent "healing fiction" titles I've been reading. There is nothing supernatural or outside of reality here; just people trying to survive bumps in the road and finding healing in books and coffee. 

It starts out with 25 yr old Takako finding out that her boyfriend is engaged to someone else. They work together so it doesn't take long before she quits -- essentially losing her boyfriend and job in the same few weeks. She's at loose ends and nursing her broken heart when she gets an offer from her uncle Satoru (who she hasn't heard from in a few years) to come and live and work with him in the family second-hand bookshop in the Jimbocho neighbourhood of Tokyo. Being awfully short of money she reluctantly accepts. 

This set up is quite lovely, as Takoko has a season of quiet and rest to find herself again. Her uncle says:

It's important to stand still sometimes. Think of it as a little rest in the long journey of your life. This is your harbor. And your boat is just dropping anchor here for a little while. And after you're well rested, you can set sail again. 

And this is what happens: as Takoko finds healing through discovering a love of reading, and engaging with people outside of a driven office environment, she comes to the point where she can find another job and leave the bookshop.  

The relationship between Takoko and her uncle is interesting - she knew him when she was a child, so they are developing a different connection, one between adults. She finds out a lot about who her uncle really is, and about his wife who had left him five years previously (but reappears halfway through). There is a tiny coffeeshop down the street that Takoko frequents, and some of the characters are based there. Some bookshop regulars are found in both places. All of these side characters are an important part of the story, showing Takoko another way to live, and empathy for other people -- just as her reading does. 

I liked the references to Japanese classics, some more contemporary authors, and some Western titles too. It was a charming element and yet the story wasn't overdone. It was light but I found it satisfying and am planning on finding book two of this story as soon as I can -- I want to hear more about the Morisaki Bookshop! 

Dinner at the Night Library

 

Dinner at the Night Library / Hika Harada
trans. from the Japanese by Philip Gabriel
NY: Hanover Square Press, 2025, c2023
320 p.

Another Japanese novel that has been on my list for a while! This one is set in a library, one that has a very particular mission. It houses the collections of writers who've passed away (generally), and one that researchers can visit to study what writers read - but it's only open after dark. 

It starts out with a young woman, Otoha Higuchi, who is looking for a job, and stumbles across this one. It doesn't have the cache of a corporate position, and is located out of the way on the outskirts of Tokyo, so her parents aren't overly thrilled, but she thinks it sounds fascinating. 

Having a new employee to follow through the story really makes it easy for the author to explain everything to the reader in a natural way -- Otoha, and by extension the reader, is being introduced to all her coworkers, the purpose of the library and how it works, regular library patrons, and so on. 

We find a two person cataloguing department, front deskégeneral staff, and a manager as well as an ever-present cleaning lady, oh and a chef -- and a mysterious absentee owner. Otoha makes her way through her first few months of employment learning about minor scandals with patrons, discovering that there is a chef on-site who makes meals based on food from books (one chapter is all about Anne of Green Gables and the food choices are...interesting), and finally being involved in going to pick up the collection of a popular female author who has died and whose sister is donating everything. The storyline feels unfinished, like part two is on its way. The exact way this library operates isn't entirely clear either, especially the random food sections. But it was fun. 

I liked this, as another weird fictional library (fan of those) and a look at how a writer's reading can shape their own works. A bit metafictional in that way. There were some engaging characters in this one, all originally involved in books in some fashion, whether as former booksellers, pickers, librarians, literature students or what have you The setting was unusual as well, and although the café sections seemed a bit sudden, I still enjoyed the descriptions of literary inspired feasts - and the books they were drawn from. I wouldn't consider this a plot driven novel, but the vibes were good ;) 

 

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. 

The Lantern of Lost Memories

 

The Lantern of Lost Memories / Sanaka Hiiragi
trans. from the Japanese by Jesse Kirkwood
NY: Grand Central Publishing, 2024, c2019.
208 p.

Another Japanese novel, in the genre of healing fiction, and I really, really liked this one. It's a little different, with a bit more darkness to it but an amazing arc to the storyline. It has that tinge of the extraordinary, but with less whimsy, more melancholy and pathos. 

Mr. Hirasaki owns a photo studio somewhere in limbo, between the living and the dead. When a person dies, they are escorted to his shop (or one of many like it) and given the chance to view their life again, choosing one memory to relieve before they go on to the other side. 

Mr. Hirasaki is swamped with other people's memories, but has no recollection of who he is or why he has this role. He just has one photo to try to help him remember. 

This short novel follows loosely connected characters - first, Hatsue, a 92 yr old woman who was a nursery teacher and wants to relive a day from her career. She's happy and so are her memories. Then we have Waniguchi, a yakuza who is also somehow empathetic and protective; his memories are conflicted. Finally Mr. Hirasaki meets Mitsuru, a young girl who has had a short tragic life. He hates when his clients are children, and in this case he engages more actively with her moment of revisiting a memory than he really should... 

I found this read touching, highlighting the best of people even amidst tragedy or squalor. The instinct to sacrifice, and care for others, comes to the forefront even in those you might not expect to see it from. The concept of the story was a bit unusual, fresh for the genre, and allowed for some philosophical talk on life and memory to be included. The characters were complex, even the mysterious Mr. Hirasaki, despite the blank slate of his past. 

I thought this was a particularly thoughtful and engaging read; some trauma is involved but not gratuitously. There is an edge of darkness and grief that fits the story of a world in limbo between life and death, but also a beautiful sense of transcendence of the banal and everyday. 

One of my favourites so far. Recommended. 

We'll Prescribe You Another Cat

We'll Prescribe You Another Cat / Syou Ishida
trans. from the Japanese by E. Madison Shimoda
NY: Berkley, 2025, c2023.
304 p.

Starting off my New Reading Year with a review for the Japanese Literature Challenge! I have read a few titles by Japanese authors in the past while and will be sharing them over the next few weeks. 

This book is the second volume in a series I started last August during Women in Translation Month.  It carries forward the unique premise that people in Kyoto who find themselves in some kind of life transition or trouble can run across a clinic that can't be found otherwise. This clinic has a distinctive nurse and doctor, who prescribe clients a cat to take home, specifically chosen to help solve their problems. 

It's an amusing series, and in the second volume, plainly called We'll Prescribe You Another Cat, we meet a new set of characters who find the clinic just in time to help their lives progress. 

Each chapter features a new client, but the characters cross over between the stories, becoming side characters in someone else's chapter. Even the cats reappear. This gives a novel feeling to the book rather than just being a series of short stories, and it creates a community of sorts for the reader to follow. This adds depth and complexity to the book, just as in the first one in the series. It's a bit odd and the reader has figured out the doctor and nurse by the end of the first volume, even if the characters haven't. But it's a charming read, with some humour and some warm-hearted observations of family dynamics and personal growth. I really enjoyed it. 

Best Wishes from the Full Moon Coffee Shop

Best Wishes from the Full Moon Coffee Shop / Mai Mochizuki
trans. from the Japanese by Jordan Taylor 
NY: Ballantine, 2025, c2021.
224 p.

This was an unexpected Christmas read! I read the first book in this series earlier this year, and so when this one came out, I grabbed it. And to my surprise, it is set at Christmas -- and I didn't realize that Christmas was celebrated so widely in Japan. 

Three women, all at a crossroads in life, encounter the magical Full Moon Coffee Shop in Kyoto, right around Christmas. We start with Satomi, a career woman in Tokyo who suspects her boyfriend is going to propose on Christmas Eve -- and she's not sure how she feels about that, since he is based in a smaller town and of course she'd have to follow him, not the other way around. 

The next is Koyuki, who works for Satomi. Her father died on Christmas Day when she was a child, and ever since she has felt guilt and unhappiness at this time of year. The cats of the Full Moon Coffee Shop give her a chance to see the truth of what happened all those years ago. 

And last is Junko, Satomi's sister-in-law, and her daughter Ayu. When Junko has to come home because her estranged father has fallen ill, she faces many decisions. Both Junko and Ayu experience the Full Moon Coffee Shop too, and it changes both of them. 

The magical cats of the Full Moon Coffee Shop are astrological planets who take the form of cats to serve people what they need - there is no ordering at this coffee shop, they simply bring you what they think you need. And they talk about the astrological background to each character and how that affects their lives and fortunes. In this novel, the astrology bits are less prominent than in the first, and I think that improved the story - it flows more, and feels more based in the characters and the stories than just an astrology explainer. The first one was heavier on this angle and it did disrupt the flow a bit. This is one of those unusual times when the second book in a series is even better than the first one. I'd say read them both, though, as you'll understand the astrology elements better if you get all the worldbuilding info in the first book. 

This was charming and a delight - an unusual Christmas set story but one that offers uplift and peaceful resolutions - very Christmassy.  

We'll Prescribe You a Cat

 

We'll Prescribe You a Cat / Syou Ishida
trans. from the Japanese by E. Madison Shimoda
NY: Berkley, 2024, c2023.
297 p.

Another light read for this week. This is a book that could easily have been too twee; but as it turns out, it balances the cat tweeness with some real life difficulties that the characters are facing. And it's leavened with some light humour. I really enjoyed it!

It's five connected stories set in Kyoto, featuring different individuals who hear about an odd mental health clinic that is found down a narrow alleyway, with a doctor and nurse who prescribe cats. The patients are often taken aback when they have a cat handed to them, but the 10 day course of "treatment" usually does work wonders. Some of the characters bond and don't want to give their cats back; others feel ready to move forward in life which will include finding their own cat later on. 

The issues that the characters face include a young girl in the midst of school drama (and her rigid mother), a middle aged businessman feeling edged out at his workplace by an energetic new female supervisor, a young salesman facing a career crisis, a work focused designer with no bandwidth to recognize her own needs, and a geiko (Kyoto geisha) who is trying to get over her lost cat. 

I loved the setting - so often these books are set in Tokyo but this one really uses its location of Kyoto beautifully. I felt like I learned about the city and culture as well as the characters. The clinic itself is unusual; it's only there for people who really need it. And the secret of the nurse and doctor's presence is hinted at, becoming clear to the reader (and only the reader) by the end. Definitely leaving you set up for the next one! 

I thought this was a delight. Meaningful, not too sentimental, but light and uplifting as well. I really liked the unusual characters and the way the author drew out their dilemmas, everyday ones but so important to the person going through it. I felt that there was a clear love of both animals and people shown by this author's writing, and that the balance in each story was finely drawn. I'd definitely recommend this one when you need some Uplit! 

Diary of a Void

 

Diary of a Void / Emi Yagi
trans. from the Japanese by David Boyd and Lucy North
NY: Viking, 2022, c2020.
213 p.

Another workplace novel, of sorts - this one is about women's roles in the workplace, maternity, and expectations of all kinds. 

At age 34,  Ms. Shibata leaves one workplace because of sexual harassment, and finds a new role at a cardboard tube manufacturer. She is the only woman in the office and discovers that all the little niceties fall to her, simply because she is a woman. Coffee, keeping the office tidy, distributing any vendor gifts, and so forth -- all just left for her, because she is female. And if these things aren't done, she is directly asked. She has had enough. 

So one day, asked to clear the coffee cups and cigarettes from a meeting, she refuses, saying that she is pregnant and the smell makes her sick. Bang! She no longer has to do so many things. But she is not, in fact, pregnant. 

But one said, this becomes a fact - she is treated differently because of the belief that she is pregnant. She doesn't have to do so many of the tedious chores at work. How is she going to maintain this fiction, though? She comes up with some ideas. Eventually she convinces even herself that she is pregnant, joining a maternity yoga class, finding a doctor, thinking about names...and going on maternity leave. 

It was  a compelling read, one that highlights so many nuances in women's experiences of the workplace, in particular. The way that single women in their thirties are treated differs from mothers, even single mothers like Ms. Shibata. This is key to the book, and while it started getting a little weird for a while, the ending draws everything together. It leaves you thinking. 

The Woman in the Purple Skirt

 

The Woman in the Purple Skirt / Natsuko Imamura
trans. from the Japanese by Lucy North 
NY: Penguin, 2021, c2019.
216 p.

The Woman in the Purple Skirt is noticeable. She has a routine; sits on the same park bench at the same time of day, to eat the same cream bun. Except for when she is working, at one of the many temp jobs she gets. We know this because The Woman in the Yellow Cardigan is watching her, and telling us. 

The narrator is obsessed with this stranger; she watches her, notes down her movements and habits, and decides to find her a steady job at her own workplace, as a hotel cleaner. Through some oblique efforts (ie: leaving the jobs magazine open to the right page where she knows the Woman in the Purple Skirt will pick it up) she manages to do this. Now she can observe her closely and will obviously become her friend. 

But we know that this isn't going to work out as the narrator thinks it will. The Woman in the Purple Skirt has a mind of her own, and her own goals here. She behaves as she needs to to be accepted by the new work team, but begins to take advantages where she can, eating food from the rooms, taking the complimentary shampoos and so forth. But she really goes for it when she begins an affair with the owner. 

This doesn't end well, and the Woman in the Yellow Cardigan sees her opening. But even that careful plan goes awry. 

This is a strange little book, full of both personal obsession and the particular behaviours of a female workplace. It was fascinating to read, with a style that is surprisingly suspenseful considering it is mainly talking about the narrator's obsession with the other woman. Her goal, to bring herself into the orbit of this woman that people notice, is a lost cause; her own desire to be seen goes unfulfilled. 

Another note: I appreciated the book design for this one as well; the dust jacket incorporates yellow and purple, as well as a set of stairs dividing two women (appropriate to events in the book). Even the actual hard cover of the book is in yellow and purple. Great attention to detail by the designers!