Book review: ‘Sakura: A Novel’

Sakura: A Novel by Kanako Nishi, translated by Allison Markin Powell. HarperVia, 2026. Hardcover, 336 pages.

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A dog’s love is universal, as anyone who loves dogs will attest. That canine devotion is at the center of Sakura: A Novel by acclaimed Japanese author Kanako Nishi. Written in the earlier part of this century, Kanako’s beloved story of a family dog and how she helps her people cope with loss is now available for the first time in English.

When I received a copy, I have to admit that I thought the novel fell into the highly popular Japanese animal magical realism genre, such as The Travelling Cat Chronicles and We’ll Prescribe You a Cat. However, Sakura is a tale of a family in crisis, whose members are all learning how to go on after one moment tears them apart.

At the beginning of the book, Kaoru, the middle child in an upwardly mobile Japanese suburban family, returns home on a break from college. His father, who left the family a few years prior to the opening of the novel, has returned. Kaoru’s mother has long been battling food addictions. And his younger sister has become problematic following the unnamed tragedy. As Kaoru enters his home, he believes things will go well when he is greeted by Sakura, the family’s elderly dog who has always been a source of love and compassion.

Kanako allows her tale to unfold bit by bit through backward glances at the family’s happier times before unexpected calamity broke it apart. To say more would be a huge spoiler. But Sakura’s steadfast love, evident throughout all her years living with Kaoru’s family, is the heart of this complex examination of how grief can rip a family apart. Not always an easy read, Sakura: A Novel is, nonetheless, a moving tribute to all dogs — and one very special dog in particular.

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