The Blanket Cats

By (author) Shigematsu, Kiyoshi; Translated by Kirkwood, Jesse
Short description/annotation:
An enduring classic of the Japanese Cat Book genre, adapted for TV and available in English for the first time.
Description:

"A breath of fresh air in the genre of healing fiction. Boldly exploring the grey areas and struggles of life . . . it left me feeling hopeful that a small step in the right direction is what it takes to make things better" Shanna Tan, translator of Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop

"The Blanket Cats is a triumph" Jinwoo Chong, award-winning author of FluxFlux and I Leave It Up to You


Is three days with a cat enough to change your life?

The troubled and anxious of Tokyo are desperate to find out. They all have their problems - and they all want to believe that a feline companion from a unique pet shop can help them find a solution. But there are rules: they must be returned after three days, and they must always sleep in their own familiar blankets.

In The Blanket Cats, we meet seven such customers, 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 their own unknowable agendas, who delight in confounding expectations. And perhaps what their hosts are looking for isn''t what they really need.

Three days may not be enough to change your life. But it might be enough to change how you see it.


"There''s more to the mysterious Blanket Cats than meets the eye. Shigematsu''s canny felines are adept at bringing clarity to their temporary owners and giving them a subtle nudge in another - often unexpected - direction" Cat Anderson, translator of The Chibineko Kitchen

Translated from the Japanese by Jesse Kirkwood

Review quote:
A heartwarming insight into Japanese life through the healing power of cats . . . Funny, sad, uplifting and beautiful
Biographical note:
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 work has been honoured 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.