Book Blog #363: We'll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida

 

Title: We'll Prescribe You a Cat

Author: Syou Ishida

# of Pages: 297 (hardback)

Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Contemporary

Rating: ★★★★☆

Synopsis: Tucked away on the fifth floor of an old building at the end of a narrow alley in Kyoto, the Nakagyō Kokoro Clinic for the Soul can be found only by people who are struggling in their lives and who genuinely need help. The mysterious clinic offers a unique treatment to those who find their way there: it prescribes cats as medication. Patients are often puzzled by this unconventional prescription, but when they “take” their cat for the recommended duration, they witness profound transformations in their lives, guided by the playful, empathetic, and occasionally challenging yet endearing cats. Throughout these pages, the power of the human-animal bond is revealed as a disheartened businessman finds unexpected joy in physical labor, a middle-aged man struggles to stay relevant at work and home, a young girl navigates the complexities of elementary school cliques, a hardened handbag designer seeks emotional balance, and a geisha learns to move on from the memory of her lost cat. As the clinic’s patients grapple with their inner turmoil and seek resolution, their feline companions lead them toward healing, self-discovery, and newfound hope.

Review: 2025 has come full circle - I started my year off reading a cozy (as many of these popular translated Japanese novels are) book called Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, and the last book I finished on the last day of the year is a similarly cozy We'll Prescribe You a Cat.

Unlike Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, I actually really enjoyed reading this book; not sure if this is credit more to the original author vs the translator, but the writing flowed in a way that was easy and quick to read. The magical realism aspect (aka what is up with the Nakagyo Kokoro Clinic for the Soul?) actually made the book less cozy and more mysterious and at times unsettling (some characters can't explain mysterious behavior and attribute it to a building being haunted). 

The book at first appeared to be 5 separate stories of different people's experience going to the mysterious clinic. However, the reader will realized all these stories are peeling the onion on understanding how and why this clinic is operating.

Of course, as common with magical realism in Japanese literature, there's a lot of "magic" aspects that could have been easily proven/disproven if they used modern technology (why don't they just pull out their cell phones and take some pictures??), but these characters like to be aloof and just go with the flow. 

I'd recommend it as a quick read if you're already familiar and enjoy Japanese literature and the cozy style. At the very least, readers will enjoy the 5 mini cat drawings at the start of each chapter. 

Book Blog #362: Merlin's Tour of the Universe by Neil deGrasse Tyson

 

Title: Merlin's Tour of the Universe

Author: Neil deGrasse Tyson

# of Pages: 381 (hardback)

Genre: Non-fiction, Science

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: In Neil deGrasse Tyson's delightful journey through the cosmos, his fictional character Merlin responds to popular questions asked by adults and children alike. Merlin, a timeless visitor from Planet Omniscia in the Andromeda Galaxy, has observed first-hand many of the major scientific events of Earth's history. Merlin's friends include the most important scientific figures and explorers of all time--da Vinci, Magellan, Newton, Einstein, and Hubble. While Merlin occasionally recounts playful conversations with these luminaries, all questions are answered with authentic science, infused with wit, wisdom, and an occasional rhyme. With the help of intermittent humorous cartoons, Merlin clarifies the details of familiar phenomena like gravity, light, space, and time, and travels to distant stars and galaxies to describe what makes them tick, rotate, explode, and collapse.

Review: This is the book for you if you:

1. Already interested in astrophysics (any level!)

2. Enjoy Neil deGrasse Tyson's unique voice (I recently watched Mythical Kitchen's Last Meal video with Neil deGrasse Tyson and loved how he explained things in a simple yet engaging and entertaining way).

That being said, I am not the type of person who would typically read an astrophysics book recreationally. Neil deGrasses's (as Merlin) fun yet informative responses in this Q&A compilation make this read bearable, but I wouldn't have been able to get a from cover to cover in a timely manner on any book on this topic otherwise.

The Q&A style might actually be best digested one question at a time, slowly over a longer reading period (if maximizing on learning). As a beginner in the astrophysics world, there were some questions (which range from easily searchable questions to meatier topics that require Merlin to distill it down into a digestible answer) that were clearly from people who are starting at a more knowledgable point on the topic, and is responded to in turn. Since I wasn't interested in diving too deep here, I just tried to absorb what I could from the book alone. Despite being a bit frustrated that I felt like I couldn't full appreciate the contents, I do think I came out of it knowing more than I did before, which I consider to be a win!

This could have easily been a 4 stars because I think it mostly achieved what it was going for, in the chosen format for the information. I am giving it a 3 mostly on my personal experience with the book: how much I felt like I got out of it (enough, but maybe not as much as I wished) and how much I enjoyed it (maybe I would have liked it better in audiobook format to feel more of Merlin's personality).