Book Review: The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa

The Cat Who Saved Books 

by

Sosuke Natsukawa

translated by Louise Heal Kawai 

 

 

Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia

Imprint: Picador 

 

Publication date:  14th September 2021

 

Genre: Fantasy / Contemporary Fiction

 

Pages: 224

 

RRP: $19.99AUD

 

Format read: Paperback

 

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

 

About the book

 

Bookish high school student Rintaro Natsuki is about ewto close the secondhand bookshop he inherited from his beloved grandfather. Then, a talking cat named Tiger appears with an unusual request. The cat needs Rintaro’s help to save books that have been imprisoned, destroyed and unloved.

Their mission sends this odd couple on an amazing journey, where they enter different labyrinths to set books free. Through their travels, Tiger and Rintaro meet a man who locks up his books, an unwitting book torturer who cuts the pages of books into snippets to help people speed read, and a publisher who only wants to sell books like disposable products. Then, finally, there is a mission that Rintaro must complete alone . . .

 

My review

 

I really thought I would love this book about a boy and a talking cat and how together they were going to save book, however it fell flat for me.

 

After his grandfather's passing, introvert Rintaro skips school and hides away in his grandfather's secondhand bookstore immersing himself in his favourite books. A talking tabby cat appears and asks for his help to save all books by completing three quests.

On each quest Rintaro must stop someone from doing what is perceived as mistreating books, by debating his views. He draws on ideals taught by his grandfather to complete these quests of words and principles.

 

I found the quests quite boring and the problems encountered not really that monumental. Maybe I'm missing the big picture but for me it was marred by airs of superiority. If we don't read classics, over and over, we don't love books?

 

There were some wonderful quotes about books teaching us compassion and empathy and how through books we can learn about other people and other places.

I enjoyed Rintaro's growth, through the quests he gained confidence and started to think about his own life differently and believe in himself.

 

Faultlessly translated by Louise Heal Kawai the words flowed effortlessly.

 

I am certain this philosophical Japanese fantasy will be loved by many. Just not me!

 

My rating 2 / 5   ⭐⭐ 

 

About the author

 

Sosuke Natsukawa is a Japanese physician and novelist, born in Osaka Prefecture in 1978. He graduated from the Shinshu University Medical School and practices medicine at a hospital in the largely rural prefecture of Nagano. His multivolume debut novel, Kamisama no Karute, published in 2009, won several prizes and sold over three million copies in Japan. The Cat Who Saved Books is set to be translated into over twenty languages around the world.