3.0
The Blanket Cats
ByPublisher Description
"Utterly charming . . . I would read a hundred of these stories." —Shelby Van Pelt, New York Times bestselling author of Remarkably Bright Creatures
Seven struggling customers are given the unique opportunity to take home a "blanket cat" . . . but only for three days, the time it’ll take to change their lives.
A peculiar pet shop in Tokyo has been known to offer customers the unique opportunity to take home one of seven special cats, whose "magic" is never promised, but always received. But there are rules: these cats must be returned after three days. They must eat only the food supplied by the owner, and they must travel to their new homes with a distinctive blanket.
In The Blanket Cats, we meet seven customers, each of whom is hoping a temporary feline companion will help them escape a certain reality, including a couple struggling with infertility, a middle-aged woman on the run from the police, and two families in very different circumstances simply seeking joy.
But like all their kind, the "blanket cats" are mysterious creatures with unknowable agendas, who delight in confounding expectations. And perhaps what their hosts are looking for isn't really what they need. Three days may not be enough to change a life. But it might just change how you see it.
Seven struggling customers are given the unique opportunity to take home a "blanket cat" . . . but only for three days, the time it’ll take to change their lives.
A peculiar pet shop in Tokyo has been known to offer customers the unique opportunity to take home one of seven special cats, whose "magic" is never promised, but always received. But there are rules: these cats must be returned after three days. They must eat only the food supplied by the owner, and they must travel to their new homes with a distinctive blanket.
In The Blanket Cats, we meet seven customers, each of whom is hoping a temporary feline companion will help them escape a certain reality, including a couple struggling with infertility, a middle-aged woman on the run from the police, and two families in very different circumstances simply seeking joy.
But like all their kind, the "blanket cats" are mysterious creatures with unknowable agendas, who delight in confounding expectations. And perhaps what their hosts are looking for isn't really what they need. Three days may not be enough to change a life. But it might just change how you see it.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesThe Blanket Cats Reviews
3.0
Hayley Mead
Created 33 minutes agoShare
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“Proposing a petition for another book, every chapter through the perspective of the blanket cats themselves.
The tabby section was everything I needed and more. The other parts were certainly thought-provoking and sentimental, but just didn’t quite hit the same - how can any other narrator even compare?”
Emmy
Created 1 day agoShare
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Lynna
Created 5 days agoShare
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“For a book with such a cute, cozy-looking cover, The Blanket Cats was nothing like what I expected. It actually reminded me a bit of We’ll Prescribe You a Cat but instead of being prescribed a cat, here you’re renting a cat for three days. Instead of cozy, heartwarming stories, most chapters felt heavy, frustrating, and at times even triggering especially as a cat mom. The way some of the cats were treated made me upset, and many of the characters carried a kind of sadness or negativity that weighed the book down.
The first story ended so openly that I was left clueless about what actually happened. Chapters 5 and 6 had me in tears. I also cried in Chapter 2 because of the cat, where I couldn’t understand why she took the senior cat with her when she wanted to take her own life. Chapter 3 made me completely dislike Koji for hurting the cat. In Chapter 5, the boyfriend’s behavior towards the rented cat was a major red flag, and in Chapter 7, Miyuki’s attitude towards her dad didn’t sit well with me.
Overall, the book was far from the warm, comforting read I expected. It often felt emotionally draining, with moments that left me angry, and many of the stories ended without a clear resolution. If you’re a sensitive pet owner looking for something cozy, this probably isn’t the book for you.”About Kiyoshi Shigematsu
Kiyoshi Shigematsu was born in 1963 in Okayama Prefecture. After studying at Waseda University in Tokyo, he began a career as an editorial writer. His literary work has been honored with four major prizes, including the prestigious Naoki Prize in 2000. The Blanket Cats was adapted for TV in 2017, and he contributed to the storyline of the Lost Odyssey video game.
Jesse Kirkwood is a literary translator working from Japanese into English. The recipient of the 2020 Harvill Secker Young Translators’ Prize, his translations include The Blanket Cats by Kiyoshi Shigematsu, The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai, Tokyo Express by Seicho Matsumoto, The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki, and A Perfect Day to Be Alone by Nanae Aoyama.
Jesse Kirkwood is a literary translator working from Japanese into English. The recipient of the 2020 Harvill Secker Young Translators’ Prize, his translations include The Blanket Cats by Kiyoshi Shigematsu, The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai, Tokyo Express by Seicho Matsumoto, The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki, and A Perfect Day to Be Alone by Nanae Aoyama.
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