By Mai Mochizuki
SPOILER-FREE
In Japan, cats are a symbol of good luck. As the myth goes, if you are kind to them, they’ll one day return the favor. And if you are kind to the right cat, you might just find yourself invited to a mysterious coffee shop under a glittering Kyoto moon.
This particular coffee shop is like no other. It has no fixed location, no fixed hours, and seemingly appears at random to adrift young people at crucial junctions in their lives.
It’s also run by talking cats.
While customers at the Full Moon Coffee Shop partake in cakes and coffees and teas, the cats also consult them on their star charts, offer cryptic wisdom, and let them know where their lives veered off course.
Every person who visits the shop has been feeling more than a little lost. For a down-on-her-luck screenwriter, a romantically stuck movie director, a hopeful hairstylist, and a technologically challenged website designer, the coffee shop’s feline guides will set them back on their fated paths. For there is a very special reason the shop appeared to each of them…
REVIEW
THEMES: MAGICAL REALISM, REFLECTIVE, INSPIRING, FAST-PACED.
In the streets of Kyoto, there is a pop-up coffee shop that serves delicious beverages and desserts. The catch is, it only appears when someone needs it. As there is more to this eatery than just taste. When three lost souls stumble upon the cafe, they stop in for a bite to eat. Instead, they find guidance in the cafe’s servers…. who happen to be cats.
I found this book refreshing. With each storyline, Mochizuki does not go with the obvious solution. The characters are shown how to find peace in their lives, rather than focusing on the end goal.
I still remember each character, regardless of reading similar books since. This is due to the stories interlinking, which I found added to the reading experience. I was able to see each character in a different, and better light.
I am grateful to this book for getting me into the genre, but it is not my favourite. There is too much astrology talk, which at first, I tried to digest but could not in the end. It would only be interesting to someone with prior knowledge of astrology.
Super short chapters with sweet, insightful little stories. Would recommend to magical realism readers, cat lovers or astrology lovers.
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