The last few deep dive posts I’ve written have been, well, deep dives. They’ve required a significant amount of time to research – like the post on the Carnegie libraries – or they’ve required a lot of time to research And included an interview – see the article on That One Millennial Student Planner. For my post this time, I’m going to keep it a little lighter. We’re going to look at cats.
Since the beginning of this decade, many translated books have hit the US market that could fall into the cozy category. Maybe they’re cozy fantasy reads or cozy crime novels. Maybe they lean more toward a cozy literary atmosphere. And, well, maybe many of them have something in common: Their mood is in the form of a cat right on the book cover.
All of the cats on these translated works are adorable, so there’s no need to judge them. Instead, we should not only appreciate the world’s love of cats, but also that these cover cats are valuable because they give readers a hint as to what kind of story they can expect inside. It’s certainly notable how Japanese and Korean publishers use cats on covers to tell readers exactly what they can get out of the book. In many cases, the books that follow are the first in an ongoing cozy series. In other regions outside of East Asia, there’s a little more variation in the use of cat cover models, but actually not that much!
I have limited myself to books published between 2021 and today. There are certainly other translated cats – er, translated books with cats on the cover – that have been published before, including Before the coffee gets cold And The Chronicles of the Travelling Cat. But we are truly in the purring season of kitten cover models.
Likewise, I’ve done my best to mention the cover designers. If you thought it was difficult to find cover designers in the US, I have news on how to find information about cover designers worldwide. Here’s a reminder of how difficult it is to find cover designers and why it’s important to talk about it… and also a reminder of why it’s important to mention the translators of such books.
The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa, translated by Louise Heal Kawai, cover design by Stephen Brayda, cover art by Yuko Shimizu
Rintaro Natsuki is a high school student who inherited an old bookstore from his grandfather. Unfortunately, the store is not doing well and he has to close it.
But then a mysterious cat appears. This mysterious cat speaks and tells Rintaro that they must go on a mission together. The strange and charming duo embark on a journey to save books across the country. This is a charming and light read about the power of words and stories, and the power of magic and friendship – even the unlikely ones between a talking cat and a teenager.
The cat who saved books is a translation from Japanese.
Chilean Poet by Alejandro Zambra, translated by Megan McDowell
This may be the least cozy book on the list that has a cat on the cover. But if you’ve developed a knack for interpreting and analyzing book covers—a real skill—you’ve probably noticed the clues that this is a more “serious” literary title. Still, this cat deserves to shine among its peers… especially because it’s a coming-of-age story with a bit of wry humor, which, having spent my entire life with cats, is pretty accurate for many of them.
And look at those fangs! Whenever my tuxedo cat shows hers, I giggle because she thinks they look fierce, but in reality… they look silly.
Chilean poet is translated from Spanish.
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa, translated by Eric Ozawa, cover artwork by Ilya Milstein
There are a number of books from Japan that feature not only cats but also bookshops. This is another entry in that sub-sub-genre and couldn’t look more adorable. It’s about the people who enter and leave the titular Morisaki bookshop in a Tokyo neighborhood, all connected by their love of books.
A bonus with this cover is that you get two cats, not just one. It took me a few minutes to see the second one.
The Goodbye Cat by Hiro Arikawa, translated by Philip Gabriel, cover design and illustration by Adam Auerbach
Although the title suggests otherwise, this is an uplifting collection of short stories about seven purr-fect cats and the way their lives intersect with those of their human owners. It’s about death, but it’s also about birth, and it really aims to sum up what life is from beginning to end.
The Farewell Cat is a translation from Japanese.
The Healing Season of Pottery by Yeon Somin, translated by Clare Richards (October 22)
In this work of Korean literature, readers accompany Jungmin, a burnt-out woman who quits her job and, at the invitation of a teacher, decides to enter a mysteriously boarded-up pottery. Here, she not only falls in love with pottery, but also discovers what it means to live a meaningful and enjoyable life.
What a beautiful tuxedo we have here! Technically, this one falls into the bi-colored cat category rather than the true tuxedo cat category.
How to Train Your Human: A Cat Handbook by Baba, translated by Katherine Gregor
We’re off to Italy now and spending some time with a clever, cheeky cat. This guy is our narrator and the story is about the complex and unique relationships between humans and cats. It’s funny and it’s not unlike how we humans joke about how we think cats see us (as theirs to boss around, of course!).
Of all the cats in this roundup, this one might be the least cute. I don’t know about you, but that’s exactly what makes me want to scratch this cat’s head.
The Kamogawa Food Detectives (A Kamogawa Food Detective Novel) by Hisashi Kashiwai, translated by Jesse Kirkwood
The Kamogawa Food Detectives, a Japanese translation, was on my list of favorite book covers to date in 2024, and that still holds true. We have a cute-looking—and, experience tells us, probably somewhat absent-minded—red-headed kitten resting in a bowl.
The book is about Koishi Kamogawa and her father Nagare, who run a restaurant in Kyoto. But it’s not just any restaurant. Guests come because the father-daughter duo can cook recipes from memories, and these dishes help their guests relive, process and reminisce about the past.
The second book in the series, “The Restaurant of Lost Recipes,” will be released in October and also features our little orange kitten on the cover.
The Vanished Collection by Pauline Baer de Perignon, translated by Natasha Lehrer, cover artwork by Pierre Le-Tan
First, look for the kitten in this translation from French. Second, know that this might be the real outlier on the list in terms of feel and subject matter—it’s a nonfiction book about Pauline’s discovery of the story behind the Nazi confiscation of her great-grandfather’s art collection.
We Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida, translated by E. Madison Shimoda (September 3)
This is another bestseller from Japan! This time we’re going to Kyoto to a unique clinic. At the Kokoro Clinic, people who are looking for real help in their lives are given a prescription for a cat. They take the cat to the clinic for the recommended time and hope that it will help them solve their problems.
And it works!
The success stories documented in this work of fiction include that of a businessman who finds joy in physical labor, a student who needs help navigating cliques in elementary school, and more.
I’d like a dose myself. I’m sure this grey tabby cat here will fix it.
What You Seek Lies in the Library by Michiko Aoyama, translated by Alison Watts, cover artwork by Anna Morrison
Last but not least, we turn our attention to a beautiful black cat. We are not in a bookstore in Japan, but in a library. And once again, cats and books help to unite the world around them.
Sayuri Komachi is a mysterious librarian from Tokyo who can sense which book everyone who enters the library needs. She can bring people together with forgotten passions, unknown dreams, and more. The book celebrates the power and magic of books and reading…
And of course the joy of sitting and reading next to a good cat.
I think these covers – even on the less cozy titles – really help make translated literature seem really accessible to the average reader. If you like any of these, know that some of them are companion works to previously published books by the same author and/or that we will be seeing more books by these authors in the near future. Many of these have been printed overseas and have been extremely popular and are now finally making their way to the U.S.
If you played along, here’s your count (though some are definitely up for debate): 5 tabby cats, 5 black cats, 1 white cat, 1 tuxedo cat, and 1 tri-colored cat.
What’s your favorite? Found something new to add to your TBR list? Chat about it in the comments.
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