“She and Her Cat“

🐈Japanese literature always feels like a breath of fresh air—one you finally take in after spending a long time in a stifling, closed space: long-awaited and refreshing. As it often happens in books by Japanese authors, here too the fates of the characters (and the cats) become more and more intertwined as the story unfolds. And the ideas turn out to be deeper and more complex than we might have assumed from the pretty cover or the cute title. Because Japanese novels have this unique power (for better or worse) — they always carry darkness within themselves. It lies hidden beneath a strong yet fragile layer of warmth and comfort, like sand that slowly crumbles away. And so, inevitably, we reach the truth, which is not always pleasant or easy to accept. Just like in real life. That’s why I love Japanese novels so much — they portray life as it is, but also as we wish it could be.

🐈In this novel, cats quietly multiply — we follow different generations, several feline destinies, and those of their (un)owners. Though the cats preserve their wildness, they become irreversibly attached to ✨their✨ humans, and in turn become ✨theirs✨. It’s no coincidence that the book is described as a “feel-good” novel.

🌸If I had to sum up the story (or rather — the stories) in one sentence, it would be this: All the characters (both human and feline) save, but are also saved.