The Book Report #80
Episode #79
The Full Moon Coffee Shop By Mai Mochizuki
The Book
This book was published in the UK by Brazen in 2024. And is an imprint of Octopus Publishing Group LTD. Octopus Publishing is a division of Hachette UK.
The book was originally published in Japan by Bungeishunju LTD in 2020, with illustrations created by Sakurada Chihiro. They called Jesse Kirkwood to translate this story.
My copy is a first print hardback edition and has 268 pages. This includes Acknowledgements and About the Author.
What Did I Think
A group of people, who have largely forgotten each other, are pushed together again. And most don’t even know it is happening. They overlap through the various stories, thanks to events that occurred a very long time ago, a moment of kindness which they have mostly forgotten ever happened.
Each member of this group discovers or arrives at a mobile cafe that could be anywhere and came out of nowhere. The cafe is called The Full Moon Coffee Shop. If you are expecting to get a coffee from them, you may not be so lucky. They do not have a menu, but they decide what you need at that moment, and generally, they always get it right.
There does seem to be a contradiction about the cafe. We are told the cafe appears only at a full moon. But many times, as you make your way through the book, the cafe arrives at different times of the day.
The owners of the cafe appear to the customers as cats. All standing and wearing clothing. Which seems perfectly normal. But it is a simple form of what they may actually look like. The story leads you to believe that they are the Roman Gods.
The point of the shop and the cats is to help the visitors with problems in their lives, and to do that with the help of astrology.
Annoyed
This is the bit that annoyed me a little, but I should know better. This is pure fantasy, and I know astrology isn’t real. Sorry to those who believe in it. I myself went through a phase of it until I found no evidence of fact, but guesses, generalisations and hopefulness.
But anyway, the cats/ gods. Discuss the problems their customers are currently going through. Then discuss what they could do to help themselves through the ideology of astrology.
The stories themselves are good, and the way they overlap makes the stories even more enjoyable as we get to see different points of view from the characters observing other characters.
The detail in the character building was something I could read a lot more of. I enjoyed learning about their lives and the connection they had wth everybody else.
The book ends with the reason why everything happened in the stories. It was a nice little touch.
Would I Recommend
For those looking for a light read, mixed with a bit of drama and fantasy thrown in. This is a book I would recommend. The ideas are, although not completely to my tastes. I did find it interesting and enjoyable, a relaxing read.
So please give this book a go.
Would you like to purchase your very own copy?
You could try these online stores: Amazon UK/USA. Waterstones. AbeBooks UK/USA, Barnes & Noble or eBay UK/USA.
Alternatively, you could try your local bookshop or even your local library.
