Review
We’ll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida is an unusual, warm, and quietly moving book, built around several independent yet hopeful short stories.
It is especially suitable for cat lovers, who will immediately recognize the deep and mysterious bond that can form between a human and a cat.
The book is built around a playful twist on the familiar saying: “A cat a day keeps the doctor away.”
Five people become patients at the Kokoro Clinic for the Soul — a psychiatric clinic with a rather unconventional form of treatment. Its head doctor, Nike, and his nurse Chitose prescribe cats to their patients. Quite literally.
We meet Shuta Kagawa, who suffers from insomnia and wants to quit his job. Another patient, Yusaku Koga, also struggles with sleeplessness, which he believes is caused by the arrival of a new manager at his company. The real reason, of course, turns out to be far deeper.
There is also Aoba Minamida and her daughter, whose relationship has grown increasingly fragile over the years. The perfectionist Tomoka Takamine and the guilt-ridden Ami Takeda also find their way to Dr. Nike.
But if you think the patients are the main characters, not quite.
At the heart of the book are the cats prescribed to them: Bee, Margot, Koyuki, Tank, Tangerine, and Mimita.
One of the most interesting elements is the dynamic between the patients and Dr. Nike, whose approach is different with each person. It is almost as if he already knows what will work best for them.
And he always prescribes exactly the right cat.
There is a curious explanation for this — one that shifts the genre of the book entirely — but we won’t reveal more.
Booklovers Rating: 4/5
As we said at the beginning, We’ll Prescribe You a Cat is a warm book, written with such realism that at some point in life, one might easily find oneself in the same position as its patients.
Not the cats, of course.
As the proud owner of a cat, I can confidently say that cats are highly intelligent beings and always do what is best for themselves.
As we probably should too, right?
Join the community
Your library starts here
Every book leaves a mark.
Create your profile and turn what you read into your personal library.
