The 'Kokoro Clinic For The Soul'' a clinic specialized in psychology in a narrow alley in the heart of Kyoto that doesn't prescribe medication, but instead, it's doctor and nurse Chitoise prescribe therapeutic cats to it's patients.That is the red line of the book, and during the story, a wide range of people from all walks of life visit the clinic for personal problems, surprised that instead of meds, they walk away with a custom tailored cat for their specific problems and a handbook how to treat the cat on a therapeutic daily basis. (these rules must be followed strict) and all essential cat care supplies.
The mysterious thing is that the clinic only can be found by people who genuinely need help for their personal problems, who get cryptic directings by word of mouth, mostly by acquintances, to the clinic, otherwise the building has strangely dissappeared in a building with empty units.
The characters are people from different backgrounds, suffering from things like unhappiness at work, insomnia, trouble at school, trouble with new and difficult colleagues, perfectionism, broken hearts. And altough their problems are a wide spectrum, the cats who are prescribed to them bring them the same; a deep healing abond between human and cat, and the cats in provide comfort, warmth, and a feeling of hope, and it is difficult for the owners to return the cat when the time of therapy is over.
I found this a very sweet and charming Japanese novel, the characters are well crafted and portrayed, the storyline of each of the characters (and their cat) was fun, heartwarming and entertaining, and I loved the specific Japanese culture between the lines, and the bit of mysterious magic when the clinic appaers and dissapears on any given time, and the last story makes you wonder who the nurse Chitoise is, a cat magically transformed into a human to make sure her owner who misses her knows she is ok? That truly put me a little bit on the wrong food, in a good way though!
This is a perfect read for every cat and Japan lover, recommended!
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