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Barbara T. (Houston, TX)
Cat Rx
This was such a wonderfully delightful book. It was heart-warming and humorous with a bit of mystery.
It tells the stories of five people from different walks of life who are dealing with some of life's problems and seek psychological guidance to handle their issues. They are referred to the Komodo Clinic for the Soul where their prescription consists of a cat to care for. The cats, each with their individual personality and temperament, guide the patients to better understanding of and handling of stressors in their lives.
The mysterious clinic, run by an unusual doctor and nurse, seems to disappear and reappear
…more seemingly at will. It' only there if someone really needs their services.
I highly recommend this book for a nice light read, especially if you need a break from 'heavier' reading material. It is a good choice for book clubs. (less)This series of short stories are charming and engaging. I quickly came to care about the characters in the book, both human and feline. The transformative power of a pet was a theme throughout the stories and I found the characters easy to relate to and empathize with, despite in realty, living very different lives than mine. While the stories in the book are distinct, there are common elements that tie all together and the book overall is hopeful and heartwarming. I recommend it.
Lorraine K. (Stamford, CT)
Perfect Book Club Selection
There is so much going on in this book and so much to discuss with a group! The characters were so well developed, of course including the cats! The names were unfamiliar to me so it was sometimes hard to track. When I read the book with my group I will track them on paper!
Robin G. (Tallahassee, FL)
Cats, Prescriptions and Change
Are you a cat lover? Do you think you dislike those sharp-clawed little carnivores? Or, are you agnostic about the whole F. catus family? No matter, for whatever your response to the domesticated cat it is represented in "We'll Prescribe You a Cat," by Syou Ishida.
A variety of hurting humans find their way to the Nakagy? Kokoro Clinic for the Soul at the back of a dark alley in Kyoto. All found their way following the vague recommendation of a friend of a friend of a friend. The clinic, we're told, can only be found by those who truly need it.
Five seekers make a successful journey to the clinic. Each had some
…more imbalance in their life that made seeking out therapy appealing. Shuta Kagawa wanted to quit his job. Koga, in his fifties, had a new boss whose effusively positive attitude grated on his every nerve. Aoba's mother hauled her off to the clinic for psychiatric intervention as her fourth grade daughter was showing signs of depression. Tomoka Takamine despaired because she often drove her employees away with her demanding perfectionism. One year after her beloved cat disappeared, Abino found her way to the Clinic for the Soul, offering a simple reason for the help she sought, "My cat won't come home."
To the great surprise of each person seeking mental health advice, Dr. Nikké prescribes the supplicants a cat. He also assures them that this specific cat will provide powerful assistance with their troubles. For their part, the people take caring for the felines seriously, following the brief instructions offered to them. But, the reader learns the cats aren't like sorcerers waving magic wands of healing. They are just cats, soft and warm, and by turns aloof or loving. The charms of this novel arise in the fact that it is the humans themselves who make the adjustments necessary to transform their circumstances.
The internal and external adjustments of the people are well described. That offers a good outline of the potential humans carry to adapt to circumstances and improve their lives. Responsibility, appreciation, loyalty and love accompany self-reflection to enlarge the souls of those who respond fully to their prescriptions.
While there is no mystery around the revolutions Shuta, Koga, Aoba, Tomoka, and Amino experience, the Nakagy? Kokoro Clinic for the Soul is shrouded in a number of unknowns. Who is the mysterious and ever affable Dr. Nikké? Who is his stunning and coldly distant nurse, Chitose? Why does the Clinic for the Soul exist? As the story unfolds the answers arise slowly still leaving room for a bit of puzzlement to persist at the end.
Many will enjoy this hopeful novel that brings cats and humans together in collaborations which improve the lives of all. (less)I never read a summary before I read a book because I like to approach it with an open mind. Because of this, I had no clue what to expect from We'll Prescribe You a Cat.
Hardly a page or two into it, I was in love with this incredibly sweet and heartwarming tale of the unexpected benefits of being sent home with an unexpected cat. This book brought me so much joy when reading it, and it left me with a lengthy list of friends for whom I plan to buy it.
I tend to shy away from books that I would describe as warm and fuzzy, but WPYAC proved a rare exception to my rule. It is a cozy, delightful little book, well worth the read.
Labmom55
Heartwarming
I’m firmly on “team dog” but I love any story that proclaims the importance of animals in our life and the positive changes they can bring. The book involves a clinic for mental health that can only be found by people struggling and in need of help. Folks hear of it through the grapevine and who up when they are desperate. In each case, the prescription is a cat for a set number of days.
As the story goes on, there is a greater thread of magical realism that runs through it. I have mixed feelings about magic realism, but it works here. Each part involves a different person and their prescription cat. They are
…more more like interconnected short stories than a straightforward plot. I can’t say I was equally enthralled with each individual story. But each is sweet and heartwarming.
I listened to this and struggled a little with the names. But the two narrators both did lovely jobs. (less)I really wanted this book to make me laugh out loud.
Unfortunately it was not as funny as I had expected. I love the idea. I wish the writer could have dug deeper into each cat's situation and the help it provided to the stressed out owners. and Emphasize the need for adopting cats.
Molly A. (Pryor, OK)
"We'll Prescribe You A Cat" is a Purrfect Solution
Whoever thought that cats were the answer to life's problems? In "We'll Prescribe You A Cat," the reader sees that cats really are the solution to just about all problems.
The story is told through vignettes of various "patients" who come to an obscure, word-of-mouth "clinic" where psychological problems are presumably resolved. The clinic has a single doctor and nurse, both of which are eclectically wise and oddly disavowing at the same time. For each person seeking their help, the prescription is the same: a "dose" of a cat, complete with its life essentials and instructions, to be "taken" at regular intervals
…more for a certain time period. All of the patients become invariably attached to their "prescriptions," and the patients unwittingly are healed of their ailments.
This book is not literary prose, and like most translated books, the wording is sometimes awkward and choppy. However, I found myself relating to the book (as a cat mom) and laughing out loud during the many jocular stories. It was feel-good fiction which was just what the doctor ordered. (less)
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