2.5 rounded up. I assumed that "She and Her Cat" was going to be THE book for me. Even more so when I saw the tagline "for fans of Travelling Cat Chronicles and Convenience Store Woman" Well. I'm sorry to report that it's nothing like the 2 books above. Was it cute? Yes, mostly. Was it original? Not really. Was it well-written? Hmm. I felt like I was reading a kids' book at times. But does it cover important issues? I mean, loneliness, grief and depression are in there, but not explored satisfactorily, in my humble opinion. I didn't cry as I didn't have time to care enough before moving on to the next character and cat(s). The constant switching POVs were also confusing at times.

I liked many Japanese books about cats, but this wasn't really one of them. Not much happens. That said, it is a quick read, and some of the passages were endearing. I liked the couple of drawings too. Perhaps this one is better in the original Japanese…?
My very subjective star rating: ⭐️⭐️💫 (but I've seen many rave reviews already so don't let mine put you off!)

Blurb extract: "A cat named Chobi sends silent messages of courage to a young woman, willing her to end a faltering relationship; a gifted artist fatally misunderstands her boss's enthusiasm for her paintings; a manga fan shuts herself away after the death of her friend, while her cat Cookie hatches a plan to persuade her outside; a woman who has dedicated her life to a distant husband learns a lesson in independence from her cat. Against the urban backdrop of humming trains and private woes, SHE AND HER CAT explores the gentle magic of the everyday."

Thank you @netgalley and @randomhouse for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. She and Her Cat is out on the 6th in the UK.

I really liked this, it was a short and sweet read, a little glimpse into the lives of a small group of people and how they were all related and linked via the cats.

I don’t know whether the formatting is different in print but I sometimes found it difficult when the perspective swapped between characters. I liked the illustrations between sections though.

A quirky story perfect for a light read.

Another Japanese book for me and an overall great one!

She and her Cat by Makoto Shinkai and Naruki Nagakawa tells intersecting stories of cats and their respective owners and how that relationship came to be. In this book, we get to read a lot about the cats' perspectives, while they observe their owners and sometimes have to deal with their own issues and stories. Each chapter is like a short story about a different set of relationship between human and cat, but they are connected by the cats themselves, who know each other in some way.

This was heartwarming at times, while also sometimes sad. It was really different from the Japanese books I had read so far, which was something I really liked.

Lying alone on the edge of the sidewalk in an abandoned cardboard box, a nameless narrator contemplates the indifferent world around him. With his mother long gone, his only company is the sound of the nearby train. Just as he fears that the end is near, a young woman peers down at him, this fateful encounter changing their lives forever. So begins the first story in She and Her Cat, a collection of four interrelated, stream-of-conscious short stories in which four women and their feline companions explore the frailty of life, the pain of isolation, and the limits of communication.
Award-winning director and author Makoto Shinkai returns with an adaptation of his very first work. Recently adapted into a tv series She and Her Cat is a slice of life story of loneliness, sadness and eventually perseverance expressed by a young woman many people can relate with.

This was a lovely collection of short stories featuring some very cute cats and the positive impact they have on their humans. There were some really heartwarming moments which as a cat lover, I adored! I also liked how the stories were interlinked in different ways and characters (both human and cat!) kept reappearing.

I didn’t get on with the writing style as it never quite seemed to flow - it felt a bit clunky and I could really tell it was a translation. I also found it confusing at times when it switched perspective between cat and human but maybe the formatting of that will be clearer in the final publication.

Overall, this was an unusual and uplifting read that I enjoyed getting stuck into. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I went into this book completely blind, but off of the back of my love of Your Name, knowing that Makoto Shinkai could write beautiful stories. And I left the book not surprised with how much I loved it, and also much more emotional than I thought I would from a story I blissfully thought would just be a story about a lady and her cat.

I found the intertwining stories between cats and owners blended together in a beautiful compact story with a closed ending for almost every single character you met. That includes the cats! I am such a big animal lover, I'm not sure if that was the reason the book made me so emotional, but I did find myself shedding a tear at two major points in the book. Both of these were handled so delicately by Shinkai that you found yourself wishing this was the way our animals chose to pass in real life, it was such a lovely memorial of life, and companionship you find with your animals.

If I delve too much into the plot it would contain major spoilers, but I highly recommend if like me, you would like a short read which celebrates life, celebrates the joys of owning a pet - especially if you have ever adopted an animal.

I also read this in one sitting because I loved it so much. The only complaint I had was that the Netgalley version made it very hard to know when the characters switched, and sometimes I didn't quite realised we'd moved onto a different character within the story.

Too sentimental for my liking, but I’m sure this will be a bestseller in the Netherlands as well. For readers of The Midnight Library!

She and Her Cat is sucu a lovely, heartwarming collection of slice of life stories that can make any cat lover smile with tears in their eyes.

If you're technical about it, there's nothing that stands out in the writing and the characters. I didn't really like the way there was no warning when the POV switches. It made reading it a little bit confusing. I also wished that the stories featuring each cat and owner were a bit longer, as it felt like we only had a tiny peak at it. I also wanted the epilogue to have featured all of the cast instead of just a select few.

However, I love cats. And any book that centers around cats will hook me in. I cried a few times while reading this. I think one thing this book really did well was capture the relationships cats have with their humans. All the cats here were just loveable creatures. I think my favorite of them all is Cookie, but they're all endearing in their own ways.

It definitely has the vibe of a nice, cozy read, although there are definitely some heavier topics discussed such as loneliness and depression. Overall, it's a lovely, quick book to read about how cats brighten up our lives and this is something I recommend for every cat lover out there to pick up!

Makoto Shinkai is a famous anime filmmaker in Japan and these interconnected stories of characters and cats are inspired by an anime that they made about the gentle magic of the everyday.
The narrative is divided between the humans and the cats - communicating with each other and their own kind. There is also an old dog, Jon, who provides sage advice and ancient wisdom to the cats.
The stories convey how our pets give emotional support and help us get through whatever life throws at us.
Much like “The cat who saved books”, this title will prove popular with cat lovers everywhere.

Chobi the cat is adopted by lonely Miyu. He watches her life and the story is told from his point of view.

This is a short, sweet read about people's lives and their connections. The cats Chobi meets bind the stories of different individuals together. Cat lovers will really enjoy this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a huge fan of Japanese writing (and of Japan to be honest), so I was looking forward to this book.

It’s such a lovely heartwarming book, beautifully written, wonderful story, and just a perfect book to warm the heart. It’s exactly as the title says, a story about cats and their female owners, all intertwining with each other.

It’s just utterly lovely to be honest!

My thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review

I would have liked this book more if it have been a clear distinction between the human and the cat, ot was quite confusing. Probably this works out better as manga thank book.

Amazing book, great writing. Any cat lovers or any animals will really enjoy this story, a true love between a cat & owner.

I love whimsical Japanese novels, especially if they include cats! This is such a sweet, warming read – very short at only 160 pages. There are four stories about 4 women and 4 cats. The narration switches from owner to cat and I adored listening to the cats' views on life and their humans. As you read each story you see that not only are the humans connected, but the cats also. The stories cover loneliness, grief and isolation and the way that cats can make everything better. Each story is introduced by a gorgeous little drawing and we even have an all-knowing dog, an animal revered by all the cats for his wisdom. This reads almost like a child's story but is quite lovely and uplifting.

A light and easy read considering the perspective of a cat and their owner. I struggled a little bit with the way the text flowed, but I believe this is partly down to the translation.

This was a very short read - I'm not sure if it's just me, but there seemed something off about it, maybe the translation? Or maybe I wasn't concentrating enough upon the first read. It's light, charming, you might even say whimsical. I'll probably have to give it another read, but I did fairly enjoy it.

On the outskirts of Tokyo, in a neighbourhood crossed by a commuter railway, local cats weave their way through the lives and homes of their owners as they navigate difficult times.

A cat named Chobi sends silent messages of courage to a young woman, willing her to end a faltering relationship; a gifted artist fatally misunderstands her boss's enthusiasm for her paintings; a manga fan shuts herself away after the death of her friend, while her cat Cookie hatches a plan to persuade her outside; a woman who has dedicated her life to a distant husband learns a lesson in independence from her cat.

She and Her Cat is a short book which places cats and their humans on an equal footing. The cats all understand each other and their humans. The humans are not so wise and often rather flawed. The first few chapters introduce the key players before weaving their stories together.

Set in the outskirts of Tokyo, the humans are mostly very lonely people. Some choose to share their lives with their cat, and sometimes the cats choose their human. There is feline wisdom a-plenty. Young girl kitties flirt with older ferals, domestic cats find guidance from old ferals and it's a delightful setting. And, towards the end, the cats conspire to improve the lives of their people.

It's lovely. That's really all I need to say.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy.

I love whimsical Japanese novels, and even more so when they feature cats!
This is a simple book about how animals can change your whole life, even we don't expect it to happen.

The story is slight but beautifully written and translated - for me it was a book that was a lovely escapist read

I understand that this novel is hugely popular in Japan and has spawned almost an industry around it. I can see why. It consists of four interlinked stories, in which we hear from both cat owners and their cats. It is charming, even for those who don't like cats, but also quite sentimental in places.

I would recommend it as a light pleasant read, with some moments of perception as well as some overly sentimental passages.