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Fabulous Fiction Firsts #846, Healing Fiction

by muffy

 

The Full Moon Coffee Shop * *  by Mai Mochizuki is “(a) beautifully crafted contemporary fantasy debut”, (Publishers Weekly), a Japanese national bestseller translated by Jesse Kirkwood. (Also available in downloadable eBook and audiobook).

Each of the 5 chapters focuses on an individual whose life is changed by his/her encounter at the mysterious Kyoto coffee shop that appears only on nights of a full moon.

Mizuki Serikawa, once a much sought-after television script writer, now is barely able to support herself writing scripts for supporting characters in a video game dating sim. Her last-ditch pitch to director Akari Nakayama, a former colleague, is rejected. Though sympathetic, Akari was unable to interest the company executives to take a chance. Wandering aimlessly among the Kyoto neighborhoods along the Kamo River, Mizuki chanced upon the Full Moon Coffee Shop, recommended to her by two odd-looking strangers at a bar. This turns out to be a very unusual cat café staffed by feline astrologers, serving up coffee and decadent desserts, and a reading of the customers' horoscopes. 

“The coffee shop appears to several other Kyoto residents facing unexpected troubles in their personal and professional lives: director Akari, who's struggling against an unexpected attraction; actor Satsuki Ayukawa, whose career tanked after her affair with a married costar; hairdresser Megumi Hayakawa, who isn't satisfied in what she thought was her dream career; and IT startup founder Takashi Mizumoto, who is plagued with inexplicable tech trouble. The stories of all five characters subtly but cleverly intersect, pointing to an act of kindness in their pasts that gets mystically mirrored back to them in the present." (Publishers Weekly) 

In this Sunday’s New York Times Book Reviews, readers will find the delightful article  In Tumultuous Times, Readers Turn to ‘Healing Fiction’  - cozy, whimsical novels - often featuring magical cats - that have long been popular in Japan and Korea are taking off globally. Boy, do we need them now! 

Readers who enjoyed Before the Coffee Gets Cold  (series) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (featured in the NYTimes article),  might also be interested in The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa, and The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa.

 * * = 2 starred reviews

 

 

 

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