Happy Literary Friday (the Thirteenth!), My Lovelies!
How are you? I hope you have had a wonderful week, and have fantastic plans for the weekend.
Today I'm sharing two wonderful books with animal characters: The Otters' Tale by Simon Cooper and The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki. I'll review The Full Moon Coffee Shop first.
According to Goodreads:
Translated from the Japanese bestseller, this charming and magical novel, inspired by the myth of cats returning favors to those who care for them, reminds us that it’s never too late to follow our stars.
In Japan cats are a symbol of good luck. As the myth goes, if you are kind to them, they’ll one day return the favor. And if you are kind to the right cat, you might just find yourself invited to a mysterious coffee shop under a glittering Kyoto moon. This particular coffee shop is like no other. It has no fixed location, no fixed hours, and seemingly appears at random to adrift young people at crucial junctions in their lives.
It’s also run by talking cats.
While customers at the Full Moon Coffee Shop partake in cakes, coffees, and teas, the cats also consult them on their star charts, offer cryptic wisdom, and let them know where their lives have veered off course—because every person who visits the shop has been feeling more than a little lost. And for a down-on-her-luck screenwriter, a romantically stuck movie director, a hopeful hairstylist, and a technologically challenged website designer, the feline guides will set them back on their fated paths. After all, there is a reason the shop appeared to each of them…
My review:
I read about this book online, and the reason why I wanted to read it is because I'm interested in Japanese culture, and since it's a huge hit there, I wanted to read it. Full disclosure: I am NOT a cat person. I'm highly allergic to them, and since we are dog and horse people, I have been subjected to their attention for most of my adult life at all the barns we've visited and boarded horses. How is it that cats can sense you don't want to interact with them, therefore they want your undivided attention? (Just ask Louis the Cat at Fox Lake Farms and he'll confirm.)
The human sized cats in this charming, magical realism story are helpful in that their purpose in running The Full Moon Coffee Shop is to give guidance to the people they've invited to the shop. There are no menus at the shop: the Master of the Cats determines what drinks and treats each guest receives based on where they are in their life's journey. The advice and treats are based on the guests' astrology. I am so not interested in this topic; astrology is definitely not my thing. I also don't think it's a big thing in Japanese culture just based on the lack of knowledge the human characters exhibit in the story. So you might be thinking: other than the reason that she's interested in Japanese culture, why in the world did she read this book if she's not into cats and astrology?
I was asking myself this same question about halfway through the book. But I am so happy that I didn't DNF the book because the mythology makes it so worth reading. As the Goodreads blurb says: Cats are considered good luck in Japanese culture, and if you're good to them, you will be rewarded. (If you're extra special you'll receive that coveted invite to the Full Moon Coffee Shop.) The magic of this book isn't the cats, it isn't the beautiful Kyoto setting as magical as it is, and it isn't even the advice the cats freely give to the humans. It's the connection these people have with each other and their goodness and kindness that make this book so very special. It gives the reader all the good feels by the end, and it has encouraged me to be a better person. I understand why it is such a hit in Japan, and I highly recommend it.
According to Goodreads:
Otters hold an almost unique place in the animal kingdom of the British Isles, being one of the very few creatures that give birth once every two years. They are the most secretive yet also the most popular mammals – they are found in every county but are so rarely seen that they have been raised to mythical status.
When Simon Cooper bought an abandoned water mill that straddles a small chalkstream in southern England, little did he know that he would come to share the mill with a family of wild otters. Yet move in they did, allowing him to begin to observe them, soon immersing himself in their daily routines and movements. He developed an extraordinary close relationship with the family, which in turn gave him a unique insight into the life of these fascinating creatures.
Cooper interweaves the personal story of the female otter, Kuschta, with the natural history of the otter in the British Isles, only recently brought back from the brink of extinction through tireless conservation efforts. Following in the footsteps of Henry Williamson’s classic 1920s tale Tarka the Otter, readers are taken on a journey through the calendar year, learning the most intimate detail of this most beautiful of British mammals. Cooper brings these beloved animals to life in all their wondrous complexity, revealing the previously hidden secrets of their lives in this beautifully told tale of the otter.
My review:
I found this book via an Indie Bookshop in Frome, England called Sherlock & Pages. It's a tiny little shop specializing in nature, conservancy, history, and heritage. I absolutely love their mission, and they do the most amazing job curating their stock. I've purchased several books from them (including a few fiction selections), and I feel confident I am set with several lovely reads for autumn. I highly suggest you follow them on Instagram @sherlockandpages. The reason this book caught my eye is that otters have returned to Lake Martin, Alabama, and I thought it would be fun to read about them even though they aren't the same species as the English ones.
Simon Cooper kept me mesmerized throughout this book as he weaves the story of Kuschta and her pups within their chalkstream habitat. I found it fascinating reading about what it takes to keep an otter fed considering they don't have fat stores. They tend to be nocturnal, and they are very territorial. There are several lessons I learned I probably could've done without. I learned more than I care to know about their poop called "spraint." Spraint is not only about marking territory. Otters use spraint like we use newspapers, to learn about other otters in their environment including otters just passing through. I also learned how brutal a mama otter can be when nature necessitates that she ostracize one of her pups to the point of death. An otter's life is brutal, especially for the young males without a territory.
But in spite of the harshness of otter life, I enjoyed the book so much, especially Cooper's voice. I also enjoyed learning about the otters' habitat, the chalkstream. There are only 200 chalkstreams in the world, and almost all of them are in England. I also enjoyed reading about how Kuschta and her pups become a part of the rhythm of life for Simon and his family at their millhouse home. The narrative spans the seasons within a year, and the descriptions of the immediate area, the chalkstream, the fields, and the hedgerows are enchanting.
If you enjoy nature writing, I know you will love The Otters' Tale. Even if you aren't normally a nature reader, you might want to expand your horizons and read it anyway!
Are you interested in reading either of these books?
Until next time...
Happy reading!
Ricki Jill
