The main character, Tohru Honda, is a highschool girl who has lost both parents, her mother most recently. Through a series of unfortunate events, she finds herself living with a classmate and two of his cousins. All three of them are men, and to further complicate matters, they and several others within their family are cursed by the Chinese zodiac. Each of these cursed ones transform into one of the animals of the Chinese zodiac whenever their bodies come under a great deal of stress, or if a member of the opposite sex (outside of those also cursed by the zodiac) hugs or touches them. As Tohru learns more and more about what exactly the curse is, she becomes determined to do whatever she can in order to help break the curse.
Being so accursed, the family members have many personal demons which they deal with on a daily basis. Everything from having severe personality traits, to being abused or generally mistreated by others within their family. Tohru becomes the bright light in a dark place, showing them unadulterated love and total accpetance. Despite her agreeable nature, and sweet attitude, Tohru also has things in her life which she must face and come to terms with.
As to the curse itself, there is a folk tale about the Chinese zodiac animals, and how God called them all to a banquet. While the story itself does not really discuss religion, I feel that it has painted a wonderful picture of the way religious and / or spiritual people should be. In order for the curse to remain true to the original folk tale, not only are there the animals of the zodiac, but there is one special person within the family who is born in the place of the "God" figure -- the head of the family. This person is cursed with an illness which causes him or her to die. Once that happens, those within the zodiac are freed from the curse and will no longer transform. The only way around this is if the curse is broken, in which case, the members of the zodiac are released earlier. How like Christianity is this? We are bonded to God, yet He died so that we could be free. That having been said, I also view this as being symbolic of the fact that while we are bonded to God, we cannot allow that bondedness to become obsessive... if that makes sense. I believe that we are called to allow everything in our lives to be affected by the God we serve, and yet, I don't think He wants us to ignore life and the world around us in order to do that. These books illustrate that quite well.
I found this to be a wonderful story, and truly inspiring. This is high on my list of recommendations.
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