Best Wishes from the Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

If you are very fortunate, you may encounter a special coffee shop, but only when the moon is full—or if it’s a special time of year.  The Full Moon Coffee shop workers sometimes appear as cats, but they have to be humans in cat suits, right? Whoever they are, they are very fond of Western astrology and are prone to give customers advice and insights.

In this second book in the series, three young women are going to be fortunate enough to encounter the shop. Each one is troubled this Christmas season: Satomi is afraid she’s going to have to choose between a job she loves and her boyfriend; Koyuki doesn’t want to go visit her mother and her mother’s new husband over the holiday because she doesn’t feel as if she’s a real part of the family now; and Junko dreads going to visit her domineering father who has been hospitalized.  None of them can see an easy solution—not until they visit the coffee shop.

I’m a sucker for a book with a cat on the cover, so I’ve read several of these series from (mostly) Japanese authors which feature people who have a mystical experience that helps them resolve difficulties.  It may be having a special meal from childhood or going back in time as for as long as a cup of coffee stays hot or even asking a librarian for help on a topic, but any way they go, they find clarity and closure, while the reader wipes away a tear or two and feels better about the world.  There’s a reason such books are sometimes dubbed “healing fiction.”

I’ll admit I was a bit dubious at the first book, The Full Moon Coffee Shop, because there was a lot of talk about advanced astrology: this planet was in that house, there were planets in conjunction or opposition, and I thought I would just be overwhelmed.  Turns out I wasn’t but I had gained a little more understanding of astrology.  Whether or not you buy into astrology or just roll your eyes at mentions of Leo or Capricorn or Libra, this is still a fun and thoughtful book.  The theme this time is moon signs, which show a person’s hidden desire, the one true thing they want above all.  When asked, most people come up things like winning the lottery or becoming famous, but these things can obscure the real wish: maybe to win a parent’s approval or to forgive someone.

You needn’t have read the first book to enjoy this one, but some of the characters from the first book get a shout-out here.  The book reads very smoothly; sometimes a translated book can feel choppy or stilted, but this one doesn’t.

The author’s note said she didn’t intend to write a sequel but was inspired to do so from an illustration.  Here’s hoping another illustration will bring a third book.

The Blanket Cats by Kiyoshi Shigematsu

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

There’s a pet shop in Tokyo with seven unusual cats—the Blanket Cats.   Each cat has its own special security blanket, something familiar.  They need it because these cats are rented out to different customers for a three day periods, after which the cats are to be returned to the shop.  The customer has to agree to certain rules, such as only feeding the cat its specific food and keeping the cat and blanket together.  These are cats who have been chosen for their demeanor and calmness; most are purebred cats. 

The people who come to rent these cats come because their lives are in some way broken.  They come hoping that the company of a cat, even if it’s just for three days, will somehow make their lives better.

Sometimes they’re right.

Lately it seems that there’s been a proliferation of books by Asian authors, mostly Japanese, which have cats on the cover and feature stories about troubled people who come to a certain café or coffee shop or restaurant and have a life changing moment. Some have referred to this as “healing fiction,” since most of these people have a revelation or encounter that changes their lives for the better.  Blanket Cats is in many ways a more realistic take on these situations. People do not miraculously change their hearts or make peace with an enemy, but they do see their problems in different ways. For some, there is a glimmer of hope; for other may find the courage to face a problem-- or else become resigned.

These may not be “feel good” stories found in other collections but they do feel more true to life, and as a result feel darker to me. They avoid sentimentality, which can be a good or a bad thing, depending on your preferences, but they are also wonderfully crafted, complex tales that leave a reader wondering what happened next.  The translation seems very smooth, not as choppy as some can be, which certainly added to my enjoyment.

Short story fans will find a lot to like in this book as will cat lovers.

The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa

Reviewed by Jeanne

Rintaro Natsuki is a shy, introverted high school student who lives with his grandfather. Now, however, his grandfather has died, leaving Rintaro his shop, Natsuki Books. As Rintaro notes, it isn’t much of an inheritance: the shop doesn’t make much money.  It seems the only thing to do is to sell the shop and move in with his aunt.

Rintaro’s plans are sidetracked by the appearance of a talking cat.  More specifically, an orange cat who says his name is Tiger the Tabby and who also informs Rintaro that he needs the boy to rescue books.  This all seems too odd for Rintaro—or “Mr. Proprietor” as the cat insists on calling him, as if he is going to take over the bookshop. He asks the cat if he can refuse to help and the cat says that he can, but the cat will be bitterly disappointed.

So Rintaro agrees to follow the cat. Rintaro embarks on a series of quests that will help define what it really means to love books and to be a reader.  He encounters a series of folk who claim to love books and present arguments for what they do, and it’s up to Rintaro to see if there is a flaw in their logic.

This may not sound very exciting but as a reader, I loved it.  It made me stop and think about why I read and how I read.  The arguments all sound quite good—for example, one man wants to encourage people to read classic literature so he is trying to make books more accessible and easier to read.  Sounds good, right?  What’s wrong with that?  It’s up to Rintaro to see if there’s a problem.

Rintaro is a sweet protagonist, if a bit defeatist at the start.  He doesn’t really feel connected to anyone but his grandfather.  In finding who he is as a reader, he’ll also find that he has people he cares about and who care about him. I found the book to be inventive and playful, with well-described fantasy scenes and a sense of playfulness along with the serious topics under discussion.

Of course, I loved all the literature references, most of which were to Western books like The Three Musketeers and Chronicles of Narnia.  I found the book to be most inspiring; sometimes I do get in a reading rut and this was the perfect tonic. Now I really want to pick up one of those classics I’ve put off reading and give it my full attention. Mansfield Park, you may be next!

Note:  I recommend reading the translator’s message at the end of the book before reading the book.  I found it most helpful.  For example, Rintaro is described several times as a hikikomori, a term I didn’t know. Translator Louise Heal Kawai explains that it is a Japanese term that means people who “have consciously decided to shut themselves away from society” and who rarely go out.  She goes on to say the term appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary in 2010 so she thought it was in wide enough usage in English that it didn’t need translation.  Gee, I must have missed that update!  Still, I was able to gather some of the meaning.  I mention it here because I think it would have helped as I read if I had known more about the term.  You’re welcome. 

Actually, I found all of the translator’s notes very interesting. I felt it explained the sometimes stilted feel to some of the other translated books I’ve read.  

The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Taste and smell are closely linked, so it’s only natural that certain tastes evoke memories just as smells do.  That’s the premise of The Kamogawa Food Detectives, a father and daughter team who specialize in re-creating remembered dishes.  The Kamogawa diner is in a non-descript building with no sign; the only ad reads in its entirety: “Kamogawa Diner—Kamogawa Detective Agency—We find your food.” The ad only runs in one magazine and there is no address or contact information.  It takes a determined client to find the diner; or, as Nagare Kamogawa says, it’s fate.

The book is a collection of stories, each beginning with a customer coming into the Kamogawa diner with information about a dish they would like to have re-created.  The key is in the questioning: the ingredients are important, but the detectives also need to know what was going on in their client’s life at the time in order to successfully fulfill the request.

But it’s about more than the food.  The requested dishes have more to do with a present need in a person’s life than the actual edibles. These are life lessons, served up on a plate. They’re not didactic, because the meaning is tailored to the individual.

These are quiet stories, some of which have a tinge of sadness.  Nagare, a widower and retired police detective, is the chef while his daughter Koishi acts as hostess and interviewer.  The careful questioning teases out details a person may have forgotten or suppressed.  For example in the story “Beef Stew,” a woman remembers only that she ate some sort of soup many years ago but what emerges is a tale of a path not taken.

The stories all have lavish descriptions of Japanese food, most of which I am unfamiliar with, but that is not much of an impediment.  Kashiwai is able to evoke tastes, sensations, and fragrances of the foods to such a degree that I understand them whether or not I’ve ever had the dish.  I also enjoyed the look at Japanese culture from an insider, without someone trying to explain everything to have it make sense from a Westerner’s point of view.

This is the first book of the series, which has been very popular in Japan ever since the first book came out in 2013.  I quite enjoyed this one, and I’m looking forward to reading the second book, The Restaurant of Lost Recipes, when it comes out in the US this October.

The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II by Iris Chang

 

Reviewed by Ben

 

I just finished The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang. Chang was a Chinese-American writer for whom this book represented a personal quest to bring the story of the Japanese Imperial Army's war crimes to more modern-day Americans. The book was published in 1997. WARNING: this book is a disturbing read.

 

This book tells the story of what the Japanese army did to the population of China's then capitol city, Nanking-or Nanjing-, during the Sino-Japanese War of the late 1930s, part of the larger conflict of World War II. After defeating Chinese forces and capturing the city, occupying soldiers from Japan subjected locals to brutality that is arguably unsurpassed by any other war crimes carried out during the Second World War. The victors executed Chinese soldiers and civilians alike-men and women, children and the elderly-at times using their helpless victims for bayonet practice, training the more green Japanese troops to kill without remorse. The Japanese media even kept the public up to date on a killing contest between two officers. The first to kill 100 Chinese people with his sword would win. The total was later upped to 150 after both contestants unknowingly surpassed 100, without tracking who did so first. The war crimes didn't stop at killing. The Imperial Army carried out rapes on a massive scale, brazenly dragging women from their homes and refugee camps, frequently torturing and killing them in the process.

 

To tell this story, Chang wove together Japanese and Chinese history far preceding World War II, survivors' accounts, contemporary media reports, and diary entries from westerners who lived in Nanking at the time and maintained a neutral zone to protect the local civilians. The source material gives valuable insight into how the Japanese army got to the point of mindless brutality and how the reader can get past modern Japanese denials of the Nanking massacre. One thing that stuck with me was that two Nazi party members who resided in Nanking were shocked at the war crimes committed against the Chinese civilians. They played a key role in efforts to protect locals from the occupiers.

 

As indicated by the title, the Nanking massacre is one of the lesser-known episodes from the Second World War. Political developments meant Japan was not compelled to publicly apologize for its actions in the Asian theater, including what its soldiers did in Nanking. I had not heard of this event until my mid-twenties. However I was not aware of exactly how bad things were until I read this book. After reading the chapter that went into the most detail regarding the atrocities of the Nanking occupation, I actually had a nightmare! I never thought I would be shocked by WWII war crimes after learning about The Holocaust in the sixth grade.

 

I recommend this book for readers who have a strong stomach and an incomplete understanding of what people in the Asian theater faced under Japanese occupation. I come away from this experience with a better understanding of the political and historical baggage between China and Japan.

 

 

If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura, translated by Eric Selland

Reviewed by Jeanne

As the book opens, our narrator, a young postman, has been met with devastating news:  he has a stage 4 brain tumor and will be lucky to live six months.  Frankly, his doctor will be surprised if he makes it another week.  Stunned, he goes home to his cat, Cabbage, and contemplates his fate.

Then Intervention occurs—and it can’t be called Divine Intervention, because it is via the devil.  He has a bargain to offer: if the postman picks one thing to disappear from the world forever, he can have an extra day of life.  Simple, no?

Ah, but of course there is a catch.  The devil has to approve the choice, so making dust or roadside trash go away is not going to happen—as the devil says, “C’mon now, what do you think I am, the maid?”

No, the item has to be important.

As the narrator weighs each choice, imagining how the things fit into his life and what they mean to him and others, he reflects on his past and his relationships. Most of all, he remembers something his mother always said:  “In order to gain something, you have to lose something.”

While this is a thoughtful and sometimes poignant book, it’s also pretty funny.  The devil shows up wearing a brightly colored Hawaiian shirt and is more used car salesman than Prince of Darkness. He also likes to play jokes, as when he enables Cabbage to speak.  There are other things I’d like to mention, but this is such a slim book—about 150 pages-- that it’s too easy to spoil.

I have to say that it covers some of the same ground as the recent The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa, which I loved, but Kawamura’s work is lighter in tone. I read this one to fulfill a Book Bingo square (‘read a translated book’), which just again proves how much fun it is to expand one’s horizons.

The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa

Reviewed by Jeanne

Nana is a stray, nameless cat when he first notices the friendly young man who seems to (wisely) wish to make his acquaintance.  But Nana is wily and fiercely independent so he merely allows the man to offer him food.  Then an accident leaves Nana helpless and the young man comes to his rescue.  That’s when he acquires his name—a girl’s name, no less!—and becomes intrigued by Satoru.

Then Satoru has them embark on a journey in his silver van, apparently seeking a home for Nana—something Nana himself has strong opinions about! They meet up with friends from Satoru’s past, and at each stop Nana learns a bit more about his gentle, generous benefactor and begins to understand.

The glowing reviews of the book intrigued me, but I tend to be a bit suspicious of books featuring animals.  Too often it seems that I fall in love with an animal in a book and then weep buckets at the end when the animal dies.  So the first thing I do is check the end:  if the animal lives, I’ll consider reading it.

Nana lives.  We’re good.

Actually, better than good.  It’s been awhile since I really took a book to heart, but I did this one.  Maybe it’s the way the story is told, simply and straight-forwardly, from Nana’s rather unsentimental point of view; maybe it’s the fact the plot, such as it is, unfolds in a slow, gentle pace; maybe it’s meeting the various characters and understanding them, and seeing Satoru from their viewpoints; maybe it’s seeking Japanese culture from an inside view, not someone trying to explain everything.  Maybe it’s that the book takes the traditional structure of having the human learn about the pet and lets the pet learn about the human. Or, more likely, it’s all these things. All I can say is that the book touched me and made me want to be a better person.  I found real tenderness and warmth in these pages, and a generous spirit. And I kept turning pages because I wanted this journey to keep on going and I wanted to be there with them.

Yes, I ended up crying, but sometimes a story is worth all the tears. I’m going to buy my own copy of this book to treasure.

Nevermore: Sensitive Crimes, Travelling Cat, Kommandant's Girl, Book of Dreams, Closed Casket

Reported by Lauren

                This week’s Nevermore group was small but mighty. And really into books about life-or-death situations.

The first book we discussed was The Department of Sensitive Crimes by Alexander McCall Smith. Our reviewer found it charming and hilarious, and even loved the author’s headshot on the back cover, saying it was obvious “this guy truly enjoys life, you can tell by his picture and the way he writes.” About a team of dedicated detectives who investigate random crimes that don’t really fall into any other broader categories, this novel tells the story of Detective Varg and his coworkers, Carl who loves paperwork, Erik who loves fly fishing, and Anna who loves Varg. What is a sensitive crime you ask? Some examples include a young woman who reports her imaginary boyfriend missing, and a gentleman who is stabbed in the back of the knee by a stranger in a crowd. Each chapter is connected, all contain equal parts humor, emotion, and action, and the book has a great conclusion that manages to tie up all the loose ends. Our reviewer highly recommends this first novel in McCall-Smith’s latest mystery series. 

Our next member shared The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa. She called it one of the sweetest books she’d ever read, saying she cried happy and sad tears throughout the entire novel. This book tells the story of Satoru and the stray cat he adopts named Nana. The two travel the world together visiting old friends. The story is told from the point of view of Nana, and describes the life-long bond between him and his owner, with little nuggets of cat humor and human wisdom tucked inside their travelogue. Another member recommended If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura for a similar story with lots of heart.   

Next we discussed The Kommandant’s Girl by Pam Jenoff. Our reviewer picked this up because she loved Jenoff’s other works, The Orphan’s Tale and The Lost Girls of Paris, all of which deal with WWII and the horrors of the Holocaust. This book is about a young Jewish girl named Emma who doesn’t look Jewish, so she is smuggled out of Poland safely to live with a Catholic aunt (who is actually part of the Resistance, though she pretends to be a Third Reich supporter). The aunt invites some esteemed Nazis to dinner to show support for the cause, and a Kommandant takes a special interest in Emma, hiring her to be his personal assistant. Emma can’t say no, and her aunt and others in the Resistance movement attempt to use her as a spy to relay inside information back to them from her new post behind enemy lines. Our reader said the book was romantic, emotional and suspenseful, and offers a different view of the era. 

Coming back to the present, our next reader shared Nina George’s brand new novel The Book of Dreams. Protagonist Henri is on the way to meet his long lost teenage son Sam when he is struck by a car and rushed to the hospital. He is in a coma for weeks; Sam visits him in the hospital every day. While there, Sam meets a woman named Eddie who has been in love with his father Henri for many years.  The two form an unlikely friendship, bonding over their shared tragedy. Our reader described the book as moving and absolutely worth reading. It offers insight into what coma patients are “seeing” and feeling while unconscious, and the relationships that form during Henri’s ordeal are interesting and inspiring. While in his coma, Henri relives some of the most important moments of his life, experiencing the heartaches and the triumphs over and over again, and pondering all his missed opportunities. It made our reviewer think about what was truly important in life, what living really means, and the legacy we all wish to leave behind when we die.

Our last Nevermore reader is a die-hard Agatha Christie fan, so she reviewed Closed Casket: A New Hercule Poirot Mystery by Sophie Hannah. Hannah was granted permission to continue writing about Dame Agatha Christie’s most famous detective, but our reader feels that she has not been doing Poirot justice. Poirot has become a caricature of his former self. While still brilliant, he is now bumbling, too eccentric, and distant. Hannah’s narrator, Edward Catchpool, is a ridiculous excuse for a Scotland Yard detective, who doesn’t even really like Poirot.  The mystery itself is intriguing: wealthy author Lady Athelinda Playford invites her family, her lawyers, Catchpool, and Poirot to dinner to announce that she is disinheriting her children in favor of her personal assistant, who is terminally ill. Why would Lady Playford leave all she has to a man who will likely die before she does? The plot contains several twists, and of course Poirot provides a detailed and highly entertaining resolution by the end of the book. However the novel still falls short of Christie’s standards. Our reviewer hopes Hannah will redeem herself in the next installment. 

Other novels discussed included And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini (plus all his other books), which our reader described as enlightening and life-affirming; and Sum: 40 Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman, which is a book of short stories about what happens when we die. Our reader said it was interesting, but depressing and hard to read. For more light-hearted discussions about serious topics, join Nevermore every Tuesday at 11:00am!