Originally published in Japanese in 2020, The Curious Kitten at the Chibineko Kitchen offers a solemn and serene look at the lives of individuals who are left with the question, "What if you could talk to someone who was dead, one last time?"

In the vein of other popular, recently translated novels, this book in not a continual story in a classic sense. Instead it is a collection of short stories that intertwine through several people's lives with the commonality that they are served food from a particular cafe. This cafe is special, as they serve "remembrance meals", which allow the spirit of someone to return to share the meal from beyond the grave. The stories in the book are touching, tragic, and distinctly human in nature. I think it would be difficult to find someone who does not connect with at least one of the stories. And since this is only the first in a series of books and related stories, I expect even more to come from this world.

While I was immediately drawn to the nature of this book, and consumed it rapidly, I found that I was not as deeply drawn to the writing style of the book. I don't know if this is a remnant of translation (as a translator can make a world of difference) or if this is indicative of the author's writing style. I found myself struggling to emotionally connect with the story at certain points and was longing to be drawn emotionally in. I would use the word distant to describe the writing style, though in all this does add to and parallel the presentation of the cafe itself. I wonder if this tone shifts in future books as the mindset of the cafe owner also develops?

If you are a lover of cozy, meditative fantasy novels, I do recommend this one. It is a quick read and I look forward to the rest of the series.

*I would like to thank the publisher, author, and NetGalley for providing an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

The Curious Kitten at the Chibineko Kitchen is a cozy, magical realism story about a cafe in a seaside town of Japan, serving remembrance meals that allow the customer to speak one last time with a loved one who has passed. This short novel is broken into four interconnected stories, with two characters present throughout each of stories.

My main problem with this, and I'm uncertain if this is a fault of the original writing, or the translation, but the writing in this felt repetitive in many places. The author does something to demonstrate how a character is feeling, in example, X frowned, and then follows up with a sentence explaining what that meant, X was sad, many times. This writing makes me feel like the author underestimates the readers intelligence to understand basic emotions, and gave the writing a more juvenile feeling.

Fans of cozy Japanese fiction such Before the Coffee Gets Cold or The Cat Who Saved Books.

"Your table awaits at the Chibineko Kitchen, where a soul-nourishing meal in the company of the resident kitten will transport you back in time to reunite with departed loved ones - for fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold and The Midnight Library.

In a remote seaside town outside of Tokyo, Kotoko makes her way along a seashell path, lured by whispers of an enigmatic restaurant whose kagezen, or traditional meals offered in remembrance of loved ones, promise a reunion with the departed. When a gust of wind lifts off her hat, she sees running after it a young man who looks like her recently deceased brother. But it's not her brother; it's Kai, the restaurant's young chef, who returns her hat and brings her to the tiny establishment, where he introduces her to Chibi, the resident kitten, and serves her steaming bowls of simmered fish, rice, and miso soup - the exact meal her brother used to cook for her. As she takes her first delicious bite, the gulls outside fall silent, the air grows hazy, and Kotoko begins a magical journey of last chances and new beginnings."

But what if the departed loved one you want to reunite with is also a cat?

REVIEW: The Curious Kitten at the Chibineko Kitchen by Yuta Takahashi

The Curious Kitten at the Chibineko Kitchen is a Japanese story about grief, love, and food.
If you come to the coastal cafe in Japan, you can have a remembrance meal that may allow you to talk or even see someone who has passed away for a few minutes.

I love all the different aspects of Japanese culture throughout The Curious Kitten at the Chibineko Kitchen. Takahashi shared the cultural practice of how special it is to have a meal for the dead; the different recipes are even included in the book. I liked the other characters and how they all connected. Four interwoven stories exist, including high school students and an older man. The variety of different characters helps show how grief and love can impact anyone at any age. The magical realism was also handled well. Takahashi made it believable without going too out there.

There were just a few things I didn’t like in The Curious Kitten at the Chibineko Kitchen. Since the story was so short, it left me wanting more, especially regarding character development. We knew a lot about some characters, while others felt like we barely scratched the surface. The ending also felt very abrupt. I didn’t realize it was the end of the book at first. I just wanted more.

Overall, I enjoyed reading The Curious Kitten at the Chibineko Kitchen. It is an excellent story for a short, cozy, sweet, and emotional magical-realistic book.

Thank you, PENGUIN GROUP Viking Penguin | Penguin Books, for the free advanced copy for my honest review!

Loved this. An easy read but an emotional one. Nicely written with interwoven stories. Good to curl up with a hot drink.

A very sweet Japanese novella about reconnecting with lost loved ones at a magical cafe. If that sounds eerily similar to Before the Coffee Gets Cold, that's because it is. There are a few original twists in here, but overall it just felt to me like a retelling of that story. With that being said, this novella was well written, straightforward, and cozy. It shares the Japanese traditions of remembrance meals with readers from any culture in a heartwarming way. I also thought that the recipes after each chapter were a cute touch. I do wish that there had been more of an overarching plot, but if you just treat it like the (very short) short story collection that it is, it makes a lot of sense.

**I received an ARC from Netgalley to review.

"The Curious Kitten at the Chibineko Kitchen" is a touching slice-of-life story that beautifully intertwines themes of loss, love, and the unexpected connections we make along the way. The story revolves around the life of Kotoko, a young woman trying to navigate the loss of her brother. After coming across a small sea side restaurant that specializes in remembrance meals she has a life changing experience that allows her to come to terms with her brothers death. We follow several other characters who’s stories are all intertwined with our main characters that have similar experiences at the restaurant. We learn about the restaurants origin the mother, son, and cat team that operate it. I really enjoyed the story and all the emotions that came with it. I definitely shed a few tears.

A slim volume of connected short stories where patrons come for a remembrance meal at the Chibineko Kitchen, where it is rumored their departed loved one may appear for the meal. The stories are heartbreaking, but ultimately gentle and hopeful. As the book revolves around food, a corresponding recipe is included after each story, which is a great addition.

- Grief
- Acceptance
- Motivation
- Remembrance Meals
- Guilt
The last two chapters had me so teary eyed! The time shift that happens halfway through did it for me! The Chibineko Kitchen makes remembrance meals that allow people to see their loved ones who have passed on. As you read on, you see the grief each character is carrying and how they’re handling it before and after the meal. The guilt may not fully go away but it lessens in combination to the grief.
Disclaimer: aiming to not spoil anything! This story was beautiful. Writing about grief has to be handled in a delicate manner. Nothing can be sugarcoated but also not unrealistic. If you’ve read Before the Coffee Gets Cold, then you’re familiar with the writing style. It’s pretty straightforward but has those hitting moments. Everyone was in disbelief that these remembrance meals allowed you to see passed on loved ones. I would too! Then the little difference between the first half to the second half led into something so nice. All I’ll say is that it’s from a different POV. then the ending, I feel that would be a spoiler BUT what I can say is that a connection was formed through these meals, through Chibineko Kitchen. The actual cat present had a mind of his own too, very sassy. However, Chibi, the cat, did help a bit because he showed up at the most odd times, like he was a guide.

Imagine you could speak to someone you knew who has passed away even if it’s only for a couple of minutes. In this quaint and cozy seaside cafe, with a peculiar ginger cat, a patron may ask for a “remembrance meal” which would allow just that. This cozy novella intertwines stories of loss and grief to the Chibineko Kitchen’s specialty meal which is tailored uniquely to each patron. The meals are an ode to Japanese cuisine where each chapter culminates in the literal recipe of the dish connecting beautifully with the character’s cherished memory of the deceased.

I really enjoyed reading this novella. The characters are easy to sympathize with, and I found myself invested with the characters’ grief. The chapters are formulaic, but I didn’t mind because the stories were interesting, and I was rooting for that final encounter with their loved ones. We do consistently see two characters and the cute cat throughout the book which is important for the last remembrance meal. I loved how food was used as the bridge between the living and the dead; many cultures around the world use food as a way of connecting or remembering those who have passed, and there’s so much beauty in that kind of tradition.
I would recommend for cat lovers, foodies, cozy novel enthusiasts, bittersweet feel-good fans.

This was delightful, in the realm of the Kamogawa Food Detectives and We Will Prescribe you a Cat, and yet it manages to be it's own thing. It is short, and makes for easy, relaxing reading.

Another Japanese cat book?! Do we need another one? I was prepared to be slightly bored, but this was simply beyond precious and I had to let go of my bias. It was so so sweet. One criticism I do have is that the translation felt very awkward to me. That may be partially because I'm American and I suspect the translator is British. But I do think the translation was on the rough side. However, the story is conveyed and it isn't meant to be serious literature. I did a bit of research and have found that the author is prolific and there are more books in this series. I imagine we might be seeing them in English as well.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this short book. It has all the requisite contents for a Japanese light novel to succeed.

recipes, cats, contemporary, Japan, fantasy, translated, family, cultural-heritage, culinary, cultural-exploration, grief, grieving, guilt*****

Enter the world of Japanese lore of hope. Here are four loosely interwoven stories of mourners who have come to the Kitchen of the Little Cat to find hope and peace in their grieving and sense of guilt.
Thanks to Cat Anderson for the smooth translation from Japanese to English.
I requested and received a free temporary uncorrected ebook file from PENGUIN GROUP Viking Penguin | Penguin Books via NetGalley. Thank you!
#MealsToRememberAtTheChibineko KitchenBk1 #TheCuriousKittenattheChibinekoKitchen by Yuta Takahashi #CatAndersonTranslator #japaneseLiterature #rememberanceMeal #JapaneseCulture #NetGalley #goodreads #bookbub #librarythingofficial #Mystery #barnesandnoble **** Review #booksamillion #bookshop_org #bookshop_org_uk #kobo #Waterstones #penguinrandomhouse
#hope #grief #grieving #guilt

In a remote seaside town outside of Tokyo, Kotoko makes her way along a seashell path and in her restaurant promises a reunion with your beloved departed. This had me feeling all the hugs and warmth and is bittersweet in a wonderful way. Highly recommend!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a bittersweet, heartfelt read. I love how the short stories all intertwined with one another, and this book was also much sadder than I expected, dealing with grief as characters long to see their lost loved ones again. I really appreciated the inclusion of the recipes; I will definitely try some of them. And of course, I loved the cats that feature in all of the stories.
All in all, a cozy, magical read.

In Chiba, there is a restaurant that supposedly can give you one last chance to talk to your loved ones after they pass away. Its mascot is a tiny white and ginger kitten who always seems to understand every word you say. It's only open till 10 am and it's a little expensive but can you really put a price on seeing your loved ones again?

This book has recipes. That's it. That's the entire review. I'm kidding, of course, but I mean, c'mon, recipes for yummy Japanese food is a huge selling point!

If you read the Kamogawa Food Detectives, the Chibineko Restaurant will be right up your alley, similar premise but with a little bit of a supernatural twist on it. It is episodic as well, with what I hope continues to be a running romance between the two main characters Kai and Kotoko. Yes, I am actually asking for a romance to continue.

The other main thing here is the ages of the people who seek out of the assistance of the restaurant is pretty drastic, which I enjoyed. One boy was still in high school, Kotoko is in her twenties, and the gentleman in the final story was in the 70s, possibly 80's. I don't believe they said exactly how old he was. But it was nice to see such a large age gaps because grief affects us all.

Overall, if the free recipes don't hook you, the cozy vibes definitely should. I was in such a bad mood today, and this is definitely the read I needed to get me out of it.

As always, thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group for the eArc!

This book was so cute and sweet! And it made me so hungry! For starters, I loved the concept. I’ve been told ‘food’ is my love language, so the idea of connecting with departed loved ones through a meal was so special and beautiful to me. However, it got off to a bit of a rough start in my opinion. I struggled to connect with Kotoko’s grief and found the first chapter a bit choppy. But I loved how it set up the rest of the story so well and introduced the setting. I loved Chibineko Kitchen with its cozy, peaceful atmosphere in an idyllic seaside town. And I loved the proceeding chapters much more than the first. My favorite was probably chapter three, with Mr. Kurata. I appreciated the organization with one meal and visit per chapter, and I liked having Kotoko and Kai as characters throughout to provide consistency and over arching character growth. They were both so sweet and kind, and I loved that they both got a hopeful ending despite their grief. I also liked that there was a cat in each chapter. So overall this was adorable and I highly recommend it!

This was such a cozy little read. I think it's perfect for the winter blues and feeling all of the feels

The Curious Kitten at the Chibineko Kitchen serves up four heartfelt and healing stories in its short number of pages. Each chapter focuses on a different character with a recently departed loved one who uses the meal at this particular restaurant to come to terms with their loss. These chapters stay connected through the character of Kotoko, and the Chibineko Kitchen even as the focus shifts. The chapter begins with a snippet of information about the main ingredient being featured in the meal, and ends with a recipe for that meal.

I found each story to be earnest and the writing simple but impactful. All the stories felt complete and fleshed out, ending on a hopeful note. I found myself connecting to the emotions of each character. I only wish we got to see more of the titular curious kitten. Overall, I enjoyed this novel and think it makes for a cozy read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Books for providing an ARC

Really cozy read to kick off 2025! I enjoy reading translated fiction from Japan and the setting of this novel in a beachside town outside of Tokyo was magical. 4 stars only because I feel like this followed a very similar formula plot-wise to When the Coffee Gets Cold