The Blanket Cats

“A breath of fresh air in the genre of healingfiction. Boldly exploring the grey areas and struggles of life . . . it left mefeeling hopeful that a small step in the right direction is what it takes tomake things better” Shanna Tan, translator ofWelcome to theHyunam-dong Bookshop

“The Blanket Catsis a triumph” Jinwoo Chong,award-winning author ofFluxFluxandI Leave It Up toYou

Is three days with a cat enough to change your life?

The troubled and anxious of Tokyo are desperate to find out. They all havetheir problems – and they all want to believe that a feline companion from aunique pet shop can help them find a solution. But there are rules: they mustbe returned after three days, and they must always sleep in their own familiarblankets.

InThe Blanket Cats, we meet seven such customers, including acouple struggling with infertility, a middle-aged woman on the run from thepolice, and two families in very different circumstances simply seeking joy.

But like all their kind, the blanket cats are mysterious creatures with theirown unknowable agendas, who delight in confounding expectations. And perhapswhat their hosts are looking for isn’t what they really need.

Three days may not be enough to change your life. But it might be enough tochange how you see it.

Translated from the Japanese by Jesse Kirkwood