The Full Moon Coffee Shop

Cats run the counter at a coffee shop that appears only to people whose lives have quietly stalled. The Full Moon Coffee Shop is Mai Mochizuki's Japanese healing novel about a handful of characters in Kyoto whose paths cross at the same unusual cafe. Conversation, a short menu and a reading of the night sky nudge each visitor towards a decision they have been avoiding. The structure moves from one character to the next in brief chapters, and the pace stays gentle, which makes this a natural place to begin the series before the later books. Key things to know: • First book in the Full Moon Coffee Shop series • A cast of Kyoto characters at difficult turning points • Brief chapters with a calm, low-conflict pace • Magical realism in the Japanese healing fiction tradition A comfortable read for followers of translated Japanese fiction, stocked at Boipoka.