The Cat Who Saved Books (2017) by Sosuke Natsukawa #JapaneseLitChallenge17

🐈 My first read for #JapaneseLitChallenge17 hosted by Dolce Bellezza is a bookish magical realism story translated by Louise Heal Kawai, about the power of books, and how books give you in return, courage and empathy. Rintaro Natsuki is an orphan who was brought up by his grandfather, the owner of a small second-hand bookshop. Now that the old man is dead, Rintaro is alone and devastated because he would soon have to close the shop and live with another relative. The day after the funeral, however, a tabby cat suddenly appears in the bookshop, and starts talking to him!

🐈 The talking cat - his name is Tiger, asks Rintaro to help him saving books - well, force him to do it is more likely, because Rintaro doesn't have more choice than to comply, albeit grudgingly at first. And so, the unlikely partner will go on several magical adventures to save books. They are accompanied by Rintaro's school friend on their two last adventures.

🐈 Why and from whom or what do the books need saving, you might ask? It is from people who have mistreated books, despite of doing it out of good intention. Like in their first adventure, they are dealing with a man who hoards books. He collect tons of books, put them into cages, and read them as fast as he can. In a way, he do read the books, but not as what the books are intended to be.

🐈 Then there's also mutilator of books; a man who thinks that as people run out of time to read, he cut out books to show only the essence of it, and throws away the rest. In a way, people could read more books, but not really reading them.

🐈 This book is a hardcore bookish book, and could only be appreciated by people who love books or book readers to be. The story is short and straightforward, and for me personally, it lacks a charm to make you want it not to end soon. I didn't quite feel absorbed into the story, and instead felt I'm reading a story. In short, it's a book about the power of reading, but it lacks the power in itself. Quite an entertaining bookish book, but that's just it.


Two of my favorite quotes:

"A book that sits on a shelf is nothing but a bundle of paper. Unless it is opened, a book possessing great power or an epic story is mere scraps of paper. But a book that has been cherished and loved, filled with human thoughts, had been endowed with a soul." 

"Books have souls. A cherished book will always have a soul. It will come to its reader's aid in times of crisis."

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2

My first read for:

Japanese Literature Challenge 17

hosted by: Dolce Bellezza