The Curious Kitten at the Chibineko Kitchen By Yuta Takahashi

 

Publisher: Penguin Books

On Sale Date: February 4, 2025

Pages: 192

I reviewed a digital review copy from the publisher.

Kotoko Niki is a young woman who recently lost her beloved brother. He pushed her forward to save her life when a car was racing at high speed towards her at a crossroad, instead of her, the car hit him, and he died instantly. Kotoko learns of a restaurant, the Chibineko Kitchen in the remote seaside town of the Chiba prefecture not far from Tokyo, where rememberance dinners are served, to memorize someone you love who passed away. Not knowing that the secret of the restaurant is that the passed loved one will appear for one last time to the mourning person, to talks things over one last time. What also is magical about the place is that the restaurant owner, a charming man named Kai, exactly knows what the passed one used to cook or eat with the person left behind. The restaurant also has an adorable kitten, who doesn't have a major part but just walks throigh the storyand accompanies the guests. Chibineko means actually tiny kitten. 

Dining at the Chibineko Kitchen for this rememberance dinner works good for Kotoko, as she is relieved of the burden of the deep mourning and give it a place in her life, as her brother dreamed of becoming an actor, he now passed the dream on to her.

The Curious Kitten at the Chibineko Kitchen is a short but beautiful Japanese novel. It is cute and very moving, and altough it felt realistic there was this very good hint of magic into it, just perfectly dosed and not too much. I found the story of Kotoko very moving and beautifully portrayed. Altough the book is shortt and the characters don't have much depth and you don't really get to know them because it is such a short story, the author gives just the right depth to the glimpse of their life you read about in this short story. It was still moving and entertaining to read. This is a book that is perfect for fans of Japanese fiction, it is great that more and more fantastic Japanese novels are translated into English, and this one not to miss!