Que tal mais um gato?

猫を処方いたします。 #3

by Syou Ishida, Lídia Ivasa (Translator)

Certos encontros parecem coisa do destino, e esses gatos cada vez mais apaixonantes mostrarão que têm muitas lições a ensinar

No coração de Quioto, quatro pessoas muito diferentes passam por um momen­to complicado em suas vidas. Fūko tem uma apresentação importante para fazer, mas não sabe como aplacar o nervosismo. O pai de rimeira viagem Kōtarō se sente cada vez mais angustiado por não conseguir dar conta de tudo em casa e no trabalho. A sonhadora Orie é uma artista talentosa, porém sua arreira não está indo tão bem quanto gostaria. Já a reservada Ao carrega há anos a culpa por um trágico acidente.

Em pouco tempo, esses quatro indiví­duos conhecerão um lugar capaz de mudar a Clínica Kokoro, de onde os pacien­tes quase sempre saem levando gatinhos. Com o auxílio de bichanos adoráveis, um médico peculiar e uma enfermeira ranzinza guiam os visitantes para uma vida melhor. Mas qual a origem desse lugar tão enigmá­tico, que receita gatos e ninguém sabe dizer exatamente onde fica? E como funciona essa terapia tão incomum?

Enquanto os rumores sobre a peque­na clínica se espalham, atraindo curiosos, mais perguntas surgem. No entanto, uma coisa é depois que passam por ali, os pacientes se dão conta de que certas difi­culdades são muito mais fáceis de resolver se compartilhadas com alguém. E, quando uma visita muito esperada enfim aparece, os mistérios sobre aquele local mágico vão aos poucos se revelando.

Genres: Fiction, Japan, Fantasy, Cats, Contemporary, Animals, Magical Realism

238 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 8, 2024

Reviews

[emma]

can't stop reading japanese books about cats

(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)

[Liong]

This is the 3rd book I have read in the We’ll Prescribe You a Cat series.

I am still enjoying these warm, comforting Japanese cat stories. 🥰

Each book has different short stories, each one a different case, with different people coming to the strange cat clinic for help.

The stories can be read on their own, but they are also connected to each other.

As I read further into the series, the mystery behind this weird clinic is becoming clearer.

I really like the idea of a special cat clinic where the cats seem to understand people and help them with their worries.

The stories touch on loneliness, relationships, regrets and the little things that make life better.

I also found out that Volumes 4, 5 and 6 have not been translated into English yet. Volume 6 was released in Japan on September 9, 2026, so I am actually waiting for 3 more books to be translated. 😄

A cosy, easy and heartwarming series, especially for cat lovers. 🐈❤️

[Dee (on hiatus)]

2.5 stars, rounded up for CATS!! I've read the other two installments of "We'll Prescribe you a Cat", and enjoyed them, but book #3 here was a bit of a let-down. The inter-connected stories were too long and a bit depressing (not what I think of for "healing fiction") and I just felt too much concern and worry for the cats themselves, especially in the last story. I suppose we got more info on the "doctor and nurse" but not what I expected at all.

[O’Siema]

Nike i Chitose dalej w formie jeśli chodzi o komunikację między pacjentami oraz między sobą nawzajem :)
Rozdział drugi najzabawniejszy, inny niż dotychczasowe 😃
Natomiast, podobnie jak w poprzednich tomach, ostatni rozdział może złamać Ci serce i wycisnąć łzy ❤️‍🩹😿

[Gabi]

Totalnie moja comfort seria, potrzebuje kolejnego tomu na wczoraj…
Kocham koty that’s all

[hiba]

I wanna be prescribed a cat 🥹

Welcome to the Kokoro Cat Clinic was such a beautifully written and comforting cozy read. I loved how it explored healing, self doubt, and the special bond between pets/cats and their owners. Bena and Tangerine’s stories were my favourites ugh.

“the cat had filled her heart” 🐈‍⬛

[suzie ౨ৎ ⋆｡˚]

Jak zwykle - przyjemna, jednak nic w niej wyjątkowego

[Carolyn]

Nie rozumiem większości “problemów” z jakimi przychodzą ci ludzie do poradni zdrowia psychicznego, nie rozumiem tych powtórzeń, jakby czytelnik nie pamiętał, co wydarzyło się kilka stron wcześniej, nie rozumiem, czemu ktoś nie zrobił szybkiego kursu czytania japońskich nazw lektorowi (ale tego nie oceniam)

Rozumiem za to, że ludzie mogą mieć potrzebę sięgania po takie mało wymagające cute książki, ale totalnie nie widzę sensu, żeby to ciągnąć przez więcej niż jedną część.

[Seregnani]

«Le prescrivo questa gatta per dieci giorni.
Le faccio la ricetta, così potrà ritirare tutto il necessario in accettazione. Attenzione: crea una forte dipendenza, quindi durante la terapia potrebbero comparire sintomi curiosi, ma non si preoccupi. Avverta anche le persone che le stanno attorno. Gli effetti collaterali sono solo un segno che il corpo sta reagendo. Cercate di andare d'accordo. Bene, abbiamo fınito.»
«Eh?»
«Sì. Anzi, se fuori c'è una persona la faccia entrare, per favore. Aspetto un paziente in difficoltà perché non riesce a capire se restituire qualcosa che ha trovato o fare il gatto furfantello, ed è preoccupato di dover affrontare la questione da solo. Ma non si preoccupi, andrà tutto bene. Si riguardi»
Lui, sempre con il suo sorriso cordiale, spinse il pesante trasportino verso di lei.
Dentro c'era un gatto vero: non era certo qualcosa che si potesse accettare a cuor leggero. Eppure non riuscì a opporsi e uscì dalla sala visite. Fuori dalla porta c'era solo un divanetto, vuoto.

4 ⭐️ É il terzo libro di questa serie e saranno anche libri sempliciotti ma ci vogliono anche questi tipi di libri a volte per tirare la giornata. Serve leggere anche cose più leggere e se sono scritte bene, come questo, allora super!

[Kim Lockhart]

Oh my heart. This got me. The stories start out on the cozy side, seemingly another book in the Japanese "Iyashikei" genre of books that are so popular now. You see some variation of Hopecore everywhere, books like:

The Full Moon Coffee Shop

What You Are Looking For is in The Library

Before The Coffee Gets Cold

The Kamogawa Food Detectives

We'll Prescribe You a Cat

There are varying general applications of the style, but you recognize it when you see it. People are frustrated about the direction of their lives, and feel stuck, when suddenly they are offered a beacon of hope through a real person, or a magical character, or a mysterious sage, who helps them re-evaluate life and make positive changes. Many of the characters worry that they have failed at life, but then they are given the tools to change, or are matched up perfectly with what they need or have been searching for (often without even knowing what it is that they want). There is healing power and satisfaction in these kinds of stories.

In this collection, the author increased the emotional cost of the lessons learned by the characters. The stories ramp up considerably after the first one, with higher stakes, and greater intrigue. The last story nearly broke me. In my opinion, this should be the natural progression of the genre: to develop more bite, with significantly sharper edges. The author has us take a hard look at very real problems in our society. Each story is even better than the one before it. A worthy compact read.

[Andrea Hulme]

I love Japanese translated fiction featuring cats and this one was a sweet book. I adore the idea that you customers can be prescribed a cat to help a problem. I was sold based on this premise alone.

This tells the story of 4 individuals who are struggling with issues at work, or at home, trying to make the best of what life throws at them. But sometimes it is too much to suffer on your own. We meet the different characters as they attend the cat clinic and meet two highly suspect medical staff who prescribe them with a cat tailored to their needs. My favourite story was To Cat Or Not To Cat.

I really enjoyed how we explored human emotions. Some of the stories were a bit silly but a lot of fun. I liked that what feels a bit frothy and fun on the outside hides a layer of much deeper insight and serious look at humans and how they cope with struggles.

It was quirky, magical and there was a lovely blend of lightness amongst the more emotional aspects of the stories. A really enjoyable read.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me this book.

[burgundowezycie]

W ciszy, która zdaje się rozciągać między jednym oddechem a drugim, powieść „Kot pierwszego kontaktu” autorstwa Shō Ishida otwiera przed nami przestrzeń nie tyle fabularną, co emocjonalną – delikatną jak ślad łapy na świeżym śniegu i równie ulotną. To książka, która nie krzyczy, nie narzuca się, lecz trwa – jak obecność kota siedzącego obok, cichego świadka ludzkich rozterek.

Narracja rozwija się niespiesznie, niemal ceremonialnie, jakby każdy rozdział był osobnym rytuałem uzdrawiania. Klinika Kokoro jawi się jako miejsce zawieszone między rzeczywistością a snem – gdzie terapia nie polega na słowach, lecz na byciu. Koty, te enigmatyczne istoty, nie rozwiązują problemów bohaterów w sposób bezpośredni. One raczej rozplątują węzły ciszy, w których ludzie skrywają swoje lęki, winy i niespełnione pragnienia.

Melancholia tej książki nie jest ciężka – przypomina raczej wiosenny deszcz, który nie przytłacza, lecz oczyszcza. Historie bohaterów, takich jak Fūko czy Ao, unoszą się na granicy kruchości i siły. Ich samotność nie jest dramatyczna, lecz świadoma – jak wybór milczenia w świecie pełnym hałasu. Ishida z niezwykłą subtelnością pokazuje, że najtrudniejsze emocje nie wymagają walki, lecz uznania ich istnienia.

Szczególną rolę odgrywa tu kontrast: surowość syjamskiego kota i łagodność ragdolla, groteskowość doktora Nike i powściągliwość Chitose. To zestawienia, które przypominają o dualizmie ludzkiej natury – o tym, że w każdym z nas współistnieją sprzeczności, które dopiero razem tworzą pełnię.

Najbardziej poruszające jest jednak to, jak książka redefiniuje pojęcie pomocy. Nie jako ingerencji, lecz jako obecności. Nie jako rozwiązania, lecz jako towarzyszenia. Koty nie prowadzą bohaterów za rękę – one po prostu są. A czasem to właśnie wystarczy, by człowiek odnalazł drogę.

Styl Ishidy, zakorzeniony w estetyce realizmu magicznego, przypomina japońskie haiku – oszczędny, lecz nasycony znaczeniem. Każde zdanie wydaje się przemyślane, każde milczenie – celowe. W tej prostocie kryje się głęboka refleksja nad współczesnym życiem: nad wypaleniem, lękiem przed odrzuceniem, ucieczką od samego siebie.

„Kot pierwszego kontaktu” nie oferuje katharsis w klasycznym rozumieniu. Zamiast tego zostawia nas z czymś bardziej subtelnym – z miękkim poruszeniem serca, z cichym pytaniem o własne emocje, z nieoczywistym poczuciem, że nawet w najbardziej zagubionych momentach można odnaleźć sens.

Bo może rzeczywiście – jak sugeruje ta książka – nie potrzebujemy wielkich zmian. Może wystarczy zacząć od czegoś małego. Od oddechu. Od chwili uważności. Od bycia obok.

Dziękuję za zaufanie i egzemplarz do recenzji od wydawnictwa @wydawnictwo_marginesy (współpraca reklamowa) 🩷.

[Linda]

I can’t help myself. I love this series.

I love that it has a higher percentage of reviews on Goodreads written in languages other than English than any other series I’ve read. I just spent an enjoyable few minutes pasting some into Google Translate.

I love that none of the characters in the books pick up on the fact that the odd doctor and nurse in the clinic are cats in human form-- not even the woman who used to work in the space when it was being used for cat care. I look at it as being similar to Lois Lane not recognizing Superman underneath Clark Kent’s glasses all those years.

I love that I’m not sure what’s going on sometimes What is up with Akira Shiina, the businessman with the office next door to the clinic? Is he filler? Comic relief? Will we see him again?

Evidently there are three more books that have yet to be translated, and I’m IN until Nikké and Chitose get whatever closure they need to… uh… go into the light? Reincarnate? What is the appropriate afterlife for Japanese cats?

[Lucy]

Quite the bizarre yet whimsical little book about cats. Within the healing Japanese short-story genre that I dabble in, but was a bit more depressing than usual. That last story was very odd and kind of disturbing... which was a weird way to end the book.

Conceptually though, five stars. Cats make everything better!

[Aliska]

Przyjemna i otulająca jak poprzednie części. To taka comfort book, że nawet gdyby było 20 podobnych do siebie części, to pewnie bym czytała. W tej części pojawia się wyjaśnienie pewnej historii tej serii. Podobało mi się.

[Brelse]

I read a translation into English. The stories were cute and quirky. The humor was subtle in the way that it added to the absurdity and acceptance of the world for each character. I love cats. Such a fun little read.

[☆ Iga ☆]

Jeśli jest komuś smutno, to fajnie przesłuchać/przeczytać; duży plus za bohaterkę Fūko i kota Fuku 🙌🏼, coś pięknego

[Monika | muleen_literacko]

Trzyma poziom poprzednich części, dalej kocham i uwielbiam 🐈‍⬛💕

[za_pomniane]

3.25 ⭐

[BukowyCzytajnik]

Czy mogę jeszcze 15 części z tej serii?? 🥹🥹🥹🥹

[Liz]

This is my favorite entry in the series so far.

[Sanja_Sanjalica]

I love going back to the Kokoro Clinic, but this one made me feel sad at the end. So, take that into account, not all is warm and fuzzy (or furry). Still, I will always come back.

[Aellirenn Czyta]

Uwielbiam 😻

[Werwer]

3,7

[Lettícia]

Amo demais o realismo mágico dessa série. Por mais que os livros sejam curtos e o mistério do acidente cruel que aconteceu com esses gatos ainda não tenha sido resolvido, a história aquece realmente o coração. Os contos são interligados por esses gatos que são receitados como remédios pelo Dr. Nike, o responsável por essa clínica psiquiátrica nenhum pouco convencional. Acho incrível como a autora aborda tão delicadamente os problemas da idade adulta de forma leve e responsável, desde as relações humanas até os papéis sociais diversos que assumimos ao longo da vida – e os traumas que colecionamos no caminho. Não deixo de pensar no mundo incrível que seria se a gente pudesse receitar gatos para todas as dores psicológicas que temos. Eles são o maior antidepressivo que conheço.

Vi que ainda tem dois livros restantes para serem traduzidos do japonês. Mal posso esperar para entender a existência da Clínica Kokoro, desse médico esquisito e dessa enfermeira mal humorada.

[Kalina]

niesamowite jest dla mnie, jak ta niepozorna historia o kotach potrafiła oczyścić moją głowę i otulić niczym ciepły kocyk. uwielbiam to, że tutaj nawet nic nie znaczące szczegóły mogą stać się najważniejszą częścią czyjejś historii.

[Kołdrian]

Welcome to the Kokoro Cat Clinic was my first real encounter with a book by a Japanese author, and I honestly did not know what to expect.

I was sure it would be a story about a cat helping people in some cute, simple way. What I did not expect was a collection of several warm, quiet, very human stories that use cats less as a gimmick and more as a gentle metaphor for the kind of help we sometimes cannot ask for directly.

This is the third volume in the We’ll Prescribe You a Cat series, and I read it without knowing the previous two books. Maybe that was not the ideal order, but surprisingly, it still worked for me. The clinic itself is more of a shared background than the main point. The real heart of the book is not the mystery of the place, but the people who arrive there at different moments of emotional exhaustion.

A comfort book about young adults trying to live

The book is divided into four chapters, each focused on a different person visiting the Kokoro clinic, where cats are prescribed as a form of emotional treatment.

There is Fūko, a shy 29-year-old office worker. Kotaro, a man in his thirties dealing with early fatherhood and the distance growing between him and his wife. Orie, an artist in her thirties whose story is connected to rediscovering beauty. And Ao, a young, angry girl who feels withdrawn from the world around her.

I do not want to spoil these stories, because each one works best when you discover it quietly, without knowing exactly where it is going. But what I really liked is that each chapter can almost stand on its own. The clinic connects everything, but the emotional weight comes from ordinary people facing ordinary life.

And that is probably what surprised me most.

This is not just a book about cats. It is a book about young adults who are still learning how to be adults.

Even though the story is rooted in Japanese society, many people around thirty will probably recognize something here. Not necessarily themselves in every character, but the feeling. The awkwardness. The pressure. The tiredness. The difficulty of communication. The strange moment when adult life technically begins, but nobody gives you a manual for it.

Sometimes you do not need a miracle. Sometimes you need a presence.

Fūko’s chapter stayed with me the most

The opening story about Fūko was my favorite part of the book.

I loved how her shyness slowly changed through living with a cat. Not in a loud, dramatic, unrealistic way, but through tiny routines. Feeding, watching, learning, being unsure, making mistakes, observing the cat’s rhythm and, through that, slowly gaining more confidence in her own life.

There is something very simple and beautiful in the idea that caring for another living creature can shift the way you look at yourself.

Fūko does not suddenly become a different person. She simply starts seeing herself from a slightly different angle. The cat does not “fix” her. The cat gives her space, rhythm, responsibility, and a strange kind of silent acceptance.

That is where the book works best for me.

It understands that help does not always arrive as advice, therapy speeches, or big emotional revelations. Sometimes it arrives as a creature sitting nearby, demanding food, testing your patience, ignoring your plans, and somehow making your day softer.

A book for people who know what a cat can do to a home

If you have ever lived with a cat, this book will probably make you smile more than once.

The confusion of people who have never dealt with cats before. The first curiosity. How do I take care of it? What does it want? Why is it staring at me? What is it going to do next? That awkward beginning is portrayed with a lot of warmth.

The last chapter especially reminded me of the moment when my own cat first came to our home. He also needed time to get used to us and the new place. He slowly tested the space, tested the boundaries, checked what was safe and what was not. And then, step by step, he finally reached the point where he felt secure enough to simply sit near us.

That is the kind of memory this book can bring back.

There is a lot of empathy here. A lot of warmth. A lot of love, but not romantic love. More like unconditional presence. The kind of quiet bond where no one needs to explain everything out loud.

A little manga-like, in a good way

One thing that surprised me is that the book sometimes feels like it could easily become a manga.

The structure, the characters, the clinic, Dr. Nikké and Chitose, even some of the humor, all of it has this slightly anime-like energy. I mean that as a compliment. There is something theatrical and charming about it.

I can imagine some readers finding it a little too cute or maybe too childish in places, but for me it worked. It adds personality to the book and makes the clinic feel less like a realistic medical space and more like a warm, strange place from a comfort story.

And I think that is exactly the point.

Simple, accessible, and very easy to read

Kot Pierwszego Kontaktu is written in a very simple, accessible way, and I mean that positively.

This is not a book trying to impress you with literary fireworks. It is not built around complicated language or heavy philosophical monologues. It is a book that invites you in, gives you a cat, gives you a person who is quietly struggling, and lets the story breathe.

You do not expect much at first, but suddenly you keep turning the pages.

For me, it is a comfort book in the best sense. Warm, empathetic, easy to read, but not empty. It is about everyday life, loneliness, small changes, emotional support, and the strange way animals can become part of our healing without ever pretending to understand us like humans do.

My only regret is that I did not start with the first two books: We’ll Prescribe You a Cat and We’ll Prescribe You Another Cat. Now I know I will definitely buy them when I get the chance.

8/10.

A very pleasant, warm read. Especially if you know what it means to be chosen by a cat.

[Sotiria Lazaridou]

what if the thing you need most is not advice, a dramatic change of circumstances or a perfect solution, but simply a place where you can admit that you are not doing particularly well? that was one of the questions I kept thinking about while reading Welcome to the Kokoro Cat Clinic. I expected a gentle, comforting story centred around cats and while the book certainly delivers that, I was pleasantly surprised by how thoughtfully it approaches loneliness, grief, anxiety, relationships and the small difficulties that can make ordinary life feel much harder than it appears from the outside. I finished it feeling unusually fond of the book, partly because it manages to be comforting without making every problem seem easily fixable.

the premise immediately appealed to me. a mysterious cat clinic that helps people with emotional difficulties could easily have become overly sentimental, but the book largely avoids that. the cats are an important part of the experience, but they are not simply there to make every scene cute. instead, they create opportunities for the characters to confront things they have been avoiding or struggling to articulate. I liked this approach because the emotional problems remain important in their own right. basically, the cats do not magically solve everything and the people who visit the clinic still have to make their own choices.

what I particularly appreciated was the book's understanding of how varied emotional distress can be. not every character arrives at the clinic with an obvious crisis. some are dealing with uncertainty, some with difficult relationships, some with disappointment and others with feelings that are harder to explain. I found this especially relatable because life does not always provide a clear reason for why someone is struggling. sometimes a person can look perfectly functional from the outside while privately feeling exhausted, directionless or dissatisfied. the book gives those quieter forms of unhappiness enough attention without insisting that they must become dramatic before they deserve to be taken seriously.

the different characters were also one of the reasons I enjoyed the novel so much. rather than making them feel like variations of the same emotional problem, the book gives each person a distinct situation and personality. I became invested in understanding why they were unhappy and what they actually needed, rather than simply waiting for the story to provide a solution. I especially liked that some characters have to reconsider assumptions they have made about themselves. there is something satisfying about watching a character realise that the life they thought they were supposed to want may not be the life that actually suits them.

the theme of loneliness is particularly well handled. the novel recognises that loneliness is not necessarily the same thing as being physically alone because a person can have friends, colleagues, family members or people around them every day and still feel that nobody understands what they are experiencing. I found that distinction important because it prevents the story from reducing loneliness to simply “not having enough people in your life". sometimes the problem is not the absence of relationships, but the difficulty of being honest within them.

I also enjoyed the way the book approaches grief, since it does not treat it as something that follows a predictable timetable and I appreciated that the characters are allowed to respond to loss in different ways. some people become more withdrawn, some become preoccupied with the past and some try to continue functioning as though nothing has changed. generally, the book does not suggest that there is one correct way to process difficult emotions. that made these sections feel more sincere to me than if every character had reached the same neat conclusion.

I also appreciated the setting of the clinic itself. it is unusual enough to make the novel distinctive, but the real appeal is what the clinic represents within the story: a place where people can temporarily step outside their usual routines and admit that something is wrong. I liked the idea that the characters are given time to reflect rather than being pressured to immediately produce an answer. in everyday life, we often expect people to know what they want and why they feel a certain way. I thought that the novel is more patient than that.

[Kawka Nad Książką]

🐾🩺 Kot pierwszego kontaktu autorstwa Shō Ishidy to kolejna odsłona niezwykłej serii, która łączy w sobie ciepło, subtelny humor i nutę realizmu magicznego. Shō Ishida ponownie zaprasza czytelnika do osobliwej poradni, gdzie zamiast tradycyjnych metod leczenia stosuje się… koty. Już sam ten pomysł budzi uśmiech i ciekawość, a jednocześnie okazuje się zaskakująco trafną metaforą ludzkich potrzeb emocjonalnych. To książka, która od pierwszych stron otula atmosferą spokoju i delikatności.‎
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🐾🩺 Shō Ishida tworzy galerię bohaterów zmagających się z codziennymi trudnościami, które są bliskie wielu czytelnikom. Każda z przedstawionych historii dotyka innych problemów – stresu, lęku, poczucia zagubienia czy trudności w relacjach. Autorka nie ocenia swoich postaci, lecz pozwala im przejść własną drogę, w której towarzyszą im koci terapeuci. To właśnie te relacje między człowiekiem a zwierzęciem stają się sercem opowieści.‎
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🐾🩺 Dużą siłą książki jest sposób, w jaki Shō Ishida ukazuje koty jako istoty niemal terapeutyczne, a jednocześnie pozostające w pełni sobą. Każdy z nich ma własny charakter i metody działania – od bardziej wymagających po łagodne i wyciszające. Dzięki temu terapia nie jest schematyczna, lecz dopasowana do potrzeb konkretnej osoby. To ciekawy i oryginalny zabieg, który nadaje historii lekkości, a zarazem głębi.‎ㅤ

🐾🩺 W tle poszczególnych opowieści pojawia się również wątek samej poradni i jej tajemniczej przeszłości. Shō Ishida stopniowo odsłania kulisy miejsca, które wydaje się niemal zawieszone między rzeczywistością a czymś trudnym do uchwycenia. Szczególnie poruszające są fragmenty związane z jedną z pacjentek, które wprowadzają do książki bardziej melancholijny ton i pokazują, że za tą ciepłą historią kryje się także cień bólu.‎
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🐾🩺 Styl autorki jest prosty, ale niezwykle sugestywny. Shō Ishida pisze w sposób oszczędny, a jednocześnie pełen emocji, które wybrzmiewają między wierszami. Narracja płynie spokojnie, pozwalając czytelnikowi zatrzymać się na chwilę i zanurzyć w przedstawionym świecie. To książka, która nie przytłacza, lecz daje przestrzeń na refleksję i oddech od codzienności.‎
ㅤ
🐾🩺 Kot pierwszego kontaktu to lektura, która przynosi ukojenie i przypomina o sile prostych rzeczy – obecności, bliskości i zrozumienia. Shō Ishida stworzyła historię, która potrafi wzruszyć, rozbawić i jednocześnie dać poczucie komfortu. To idealna propozycja dla tych, którzy szukają czegoś lekkiego, a zarazem poruszającego. Trudno nie odnieść wrażenia, że czasem naprawdę najlepszym lekarstwem może być cicha obecność kogoś, kto po prostu jest obok – nawet jeśli ma cztery łapy.

[Bookworm Denz]

Welcome to the Kokoro Cat Clinic
Author : Syou Ishida
Translator : E. Madison Shimoda

I have been looking forward to this sequel, couldn't get enough of these "unconventional" approaches to healing with feline prescriptions! 🐈🐈‍⬛🩺💊🩹

To recap : East of Takoyakushi Street, south of Tominokoji Street, west of Rokkaku Street, north of Fuyacho Street, Nakagyō Ward, Kyoto - cryptic directions leading to the Nakagyō Kokoro Clinic for the Soul, situated on the fifth floor of an old & grimy - looking building at the end of a narrow alleyway in Kyoto. This however is no ordinary infirmary; headed by Doctor Nikké & Nurse Chitose, patients here don't get the expected traditional treatment, but rather get a cat as their "prescription".

In this four-chapter novel, four individuals w/ their respective sundry background stories, come to visit the clinic, in hopes of finding answers to their various circumstances. From a 27-year-old company worker, a 33-year-old husband, father & office worker, a 30-year-old protraiture illustrator w/ quarter-life crisis, to an 18-year highschool dropout, each having to face their own challenges, come to visit the clinic either to seek for answers to their worries, or to finally let go of what has been holding them down from moving on with life.

From all the four stories, the second & the last struck me hard that I could not keep my tears from falling. The hardship of parenthood & marriage were so relatable & there were lines that I couldn't forget : "Endurance & perseverance in parenthood is impossible, it's not a level of stress you can put up with. You don't have to tolerate everything. When your kids are still young, you might have to do some things differently, but tough times are tough for everyone, including adults. If you couldn't handle it anymore, just genuinely cry, bawl at the top of your lungs." I literally learned to adapt the "silent meow" for me & my husband too. The fourth story was the truth behind the cat crime scene from the previous novels. I can't tell you how hard it was to read & to imagine being in Ao's place. Anger filled me upon knowing how irresponsible the adults in the story were, leaving poor Ao to deal w/ it herself until she collapsed. I wish I was there to help her. 😭

Poignant & heartbreaking, & a CLIFFHANGER of an ending! I wanted to know more if Akira Shiina finally heard the cats from next door. 😫 The next book has to come soon, I need to know what happens next!

4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

P.S.

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