Title: We'll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ichida, translated from Japanese by E. Madison Shimoda
Book Beginnings quote:
Shuta Kagawa stood at the end of a shadowy alley, gazing up at a multipurpose building. After getting thoroughly lost, he had finally arrived. The structure looked like it had been built to fill the narrow gap between two apartment blocks.
Friday56 quote:
"I see," said the doctor. Then he broke into another smile. "We'll prescribe you a cat. Let's keep an eye on your condition."
Summary: In a multipurpose building at the end of a narrow alley in Kyoto is the Kokoro Clinic for the Soul. It can only be found by people who are struggling and need help in their life. The clinic is unique for another reason, they prescribe cats and require the patients to follow through on the treatment for the required number of days. To stop taking their prescription early might mean less than desirable results.
All five of the patients who find their way to this odd clinic and are able to open the door to get in, find themselves leaving with a cat even though they didn't want one. Yet, the human-animal bond is strong and eventually all five find their way out of their inner turmoil with help from their feline companions.
Review: I decided to read We'll Prescribe You a Cat as one of the last Goodreads challenges of the year. It isn't the type of book I usually read but I had seen it at the bookstore and thought it looked cute. And it was cute, and funny, and poignant. The cats didn't do remarkable things, they were just cats, but the impact their presence had on the humans was noteworthy.
Right now we don't have a cat. But I have had cats my whole life. Our last two cats died at age 19 each and we felt it was time to take a little break from cat ownership, but if I need a fix, I just need to visit one of my daughters. They both have two cats now. I know the therapeutic of cuddling with a purring cat and how much fun and silly they can be. This book captured both the cuddling and silliness. At one point in the story, when the patient came home with another cat to join the first prescription cat, the two animals got a case of zoomies and made an absolute mess of the house. I didn't realize the word "zoomies" was a word used by anyone other than us. Ha!
One of the things I appreciated about the book was the peek it gave me into Japanese culture.
If you want a lighthearted book with an intriguing solution to problems, I recommend this book to you. And if you become a fan, there is a second book in the series already published.
My rating: 3.5 stars.
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