One of Storizen‘s Must-Read Japanese Translations of 2025
“[A] slice-of-life masterpiece . . . Tinged with magical elements, the stories reveal truths about the human experience, from childhood to old age and every stage in between . . . Often sad, sometimes explosive, and always emotionally raw, these stories reflect the weight borne by many people every day.” —Shelf Awareness
“Delightfully different.” —PEOPLE
“Amidst a markedly growing genre of cozy feline-themed fiction, Shigematsu’s tales [noticeably] diverge from tidy, feel-good endings. [It] is what unmistakably enhances the lingering poignancy of these resonating stories.” —Booklist (starred review)
“Shigematsu adds depth and intrigue by avoiding sentimentality, so that when a story does contain a happy ending or a moment of comfort for the characters, it feels genuine. Fans of ‘healing fiction’. . . will find much to enjoy.” —Publishers Weekly
“Utterly charming. Like many animal-centered books, The Blanket Cats is actually an exploration of messy humans, and Kiyoshi Shigematsu treats with care the uncomfortable truths that often surface when we dare to interrogate our issues. Seven Blanket Cat customers are not enough. I would read a hundred of these stories.” —Shelby Van Pelt, New York Times bestselling author of Remarkably Bright Creatures
“What I found most striking about The Blanket Cats is how Shigematsu masterfully contrasts the comforting imagery of cats nestled in blankets with the weight of real-life struggles. This is far from a simple feel-good story; its warmth feels earned, offering solace without slipping into sentimentality. In keeping with the current trend of “healing fiction,” Kirkwood’s translation beautifully preserves the delicate balance between the book’s gentle charm and the real-world complexities it touches on.” —E. Madison Shimoda, translator of We’ll Prescribe You a Cat
“A breath of fresh air in the genre of healing fiction. Boldly exploring the grey areas and struggles of life . . . it left me feeling hopeful that a small step in the right direction is what it takes to make things better.” —Shanna Tan, translator of Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop
“Moving between tender sentimentality to deft, often cutting insightfulness through a series of artfully arranged vignettes, The Blanket Cats is a triumph. Seven cats go home with seven new owners for a strict period of three days and two nights, upending seven lives rife with complexity and consequence. Resulting from these unexpected, often messy encounters is a profound image: a kind of knowledge about our human need to be needed that one can’t fully understand without having owned a pet, whether for three days or for a lifetime.” —Jinwoo Chong, award-winning author of Flux and I Leave It Up to You
“Sweet and tender and hopeful, The Blanket Cats reads like a Matt Haig novel for cat-lovers. I was completely and totally charmed by it.” —Annie Hartnett, author of Unlikely Animals
“A cozy must-read for cat lovers, these seven stories by Kiyoshi Shigematsu have been rendered masterfully into English by translator Jesse Kirkwood, who brings each unique feline to life, quirks and all. The Blanket Cats is an endearing book that meowed its way into my heart, curled up, and refused to leave. I am now eagerly hoping for more.” —Slin Jung, translator of The Rainfall Market
“There’s more to the mysterious Blanket Cats than meets the eye. Shigematsu’s canny felines are adept at bringing clarity to their temporary owners and giving them a subtle nudge in another — often unexpected — direction.” —Cat Anderson, translator of upcoming The Curious Kitten at the Chibineko Kitchen
“The heartbreaking stories in The Blanket Cats will touch you if you venture to try them.” —Lesa’s Book Critiques
QUICK VIEW
