Nurtured Words

Life had offered plenty of lessons, even if she’d had to learn most of them the hard way. – page 59

Hello, my lovelies,

I am back with another book review! This time, it is a Japanese bestseller called The Blanket Cats by Kiyoshi Shigematsu.

In summary, this is a collection of different humans renting a different cat for 3 days from a pet shop and exploring their journeys. There is also a cat on an adventure.

I originally bought this as I thought it’d be another ‘cosy book’. However, I have found myself labelling it as a ‘kind book’. To me, I have defined it as a relaxing read that evokes a range of emotions, not just positive but perceived negative ones too. It was gentle in it’s description.

I just loved that it was such different characters, with different motivations for, and opinions around, cats. The idea was excellent in having a pet shop renting out cats overall. The shop owner was delightfully mysterious, and we don’t really see his perspective of why he rents out the specially trained cats. It was a joy to know the characters.

However, I did struggle with a couple of the characters and situations. They brought out frustration and exasperation! But I suppose that is the beauty of the book, the narrative, we don’t like every human in the world, so why would we like every character? It eluded to the many facets of humanity and really tested my ideals. I was left wanting to know more about the history of the shop.

As there are mentions of sex, I would say this is a sort of 16+ book, to be safe. But if you’re looking for escapism, this is the one. It appealed to my sense of wondering about humanity.

The sadness only really hit her when she realised that, when she was gone, she’d leave nothing behind. – page 83

This adventure was a little heartbreaking. There are many sobering realisations in this book. I find that sometimes, we often get sad at the thought of death, maybe even fear it, but we all leave a bit of history behind. We may be lost to time eventually, but we were here, and to me, that’s leaving something behind. Materials are just that, materials. Nothing is permanent. There won’t always be a history of someone permanently here, no matter how essential to life they were. That is something I love. It reminds me I have to make the most of my time on earth, in all its precious value. I will make a mark in the lives of those I love, and that is all that matters to me. I’ll see them in another life, no doubt.

I’m not sure what exactly you’ve got going on, but there are plenty of things in life that it’s never too late for. Even if you lose your tail in the process. – page 134

I adored reading this line. Everyone has a lot going on: everyone. But who is to say we are too old for anything? Sure, there are rightly exceptions to this, but we all can get to where we want to be at some point. I like to focus on the present moment as I best can, but I know what I want long-term, and I’m working hard to get there. We find the best moments are the unexpected ones. It is never too late. Things happen, usually, when they should.

We go through all this on our own. If life is one long journey, then we all travel solo…at some point, sooner or later they’re all torn apart. – page 240

This was one of my favourite adventures, the perspective of a cat. He learns he must protect his companions as his ancestors did. I felt sadness at this quote. The reality is true, we can face so many things, and that sense of being alone is all too real. But are we ever really alone? How do we tell? We do indeed part one day from those we know and face whatever you may believe in or not, but there may always be someone or something around. It’s about asking, what does it mean to be alone?

Rating: 🪷🪷🪷🪷

Journal prompt: do you have any kind books? What makes you feel comforted in a book?

Kindly, Leanne x