Books have tremendous power. There are timeless stories, powerful enough to have survived through the ages. Read lots of books like these – they’ll be like friends to you. They’ll inspire and support you.
The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa
SERIES: The Cat Who… #1
LENGTH: 198 pages
GENRES: Fantasy, Magical Realism, Fiction
PUBLISHER: HarperVia
RELEASE DATE: 29 October 2024 (originally released 5 February 2017)
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Bookish high school student Rintaro Natsuki is about to close the secondhand bookstore he inherited from his beloved bookworm grandfather. Then, a talking cat named Tiger appears with an unusual request. The feline asks for – or rather, demands – the teenager’s help in saving books with him. The world is full of lonely books left unread and unloved, and Tiger and Rintaro must liberate them from their neglectful owners.
Their mission sends this odd couple on an amazing journey, where they enter different mazes to set books free. Through their travels, Tiger and Rintaro meet a man who leaves his books to perish on a bookshelf, an unwitting book torturer who cuts the pages of books into snippets to help people speed read, and a publishing drone who only wants to create bestsellers. Their adventures culminate in one final, unforgettable challenge – the last maze that awaits leads Rintaro down a realm only the bravest dare enter…
My Review
“Reading a book is a lot like climbing a mountain.”
“What do you mean?”
His curiosity piqued, Rintaro had finally looked up from his book. His grandfather wafted his teacup slowly under his nose as if savoring the aroma of the tea.
“Reading isn’t only for pleasure or entertainment. Some-times you need to examine the same lines deeply, read the same sentences over again. Sometimes you sit there, head in hands, only progressing at a painstakingly slow pace. And the result of all this hard work and careful study is that suddenly you’re there and your field of vision expands. It’s like finding a great view at the end of a long climbing trail.”
I haven’t read a translated book for over a year and I’ve only ever read and reviewed two so far on this blog – one in 2023 and then one in 2024 (not counting One Piece, as that’s a little bit different) – and I’ve wanted to get into another novel like that again for a while. So when I received The Cat Who Saved Books as a gift a couple of months ago, I was excited. And not only is it a foreign novel, but it features the perfect duo – a cat and books. So I knew I had to read it. And I’m glad I’m finally reviewing it.
This book isn’t quite what I expected. Admittedly, this may be because it’s been a couple of months since I looked at the synopsis and I skimmed it when I read it, but I was surprised a little bit by the novel. I’m honestly glad that I forgot what it was about though, as I believe that I enjoyed it more because of it.
The Characters
“You seem strangely unperturbed to see me, Mr. Proprietor,” said the cat in its distinctive deep voice. Its jade eyes had that knowing gleam. “It’d be helpful if you reacted with a little more amazement. I would be much more amused.”
“I’ve been thinking about how you called where we went ‘the first labyrinth.’ That means there’s going to be a second one, right?”
“Such amazing powers of wisdom. Such penetrating in-sight! Guess that’ll save me the trouble of explaining.”
The book follows 👓 Rintaro Natsuki, 📖 a hikikomori (“shut-in”) bookworm that recently lost his grandfather, and is struggling with moving forward. He doesn’t have much time to grieve, however, as very soon after a talking tabby cat named 📚 Tiger 🐾 shows up and demands he go on a quest with him to save books.
I liked Rintaro, and felt he was pretty relatable, as someone who’s always been an introvert who loves books, as well as someone who lost an individual very dear to me quite recently. It was also wonderful to see him gradually come out of his shell and create bonds with others as the novel went on. His interactions with Tiger and his new friend Sayo were particularly fun. 🖋️ Sayo Yuzuki 🗒️ complemented him pretty well, too, and their budding romance was cute.
The ✨ magical realism 🌀 aspect of the book was also fantastic. I haven’t read too much of that kind of thing, so I always forget how whimsical stories with it can feel. This is also definitely a fantasy book, but the magical realism was definitely stronger.
The Story
“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, has been endowed with a soul.”
I really enjoyed the meta commentary on the modern day relationship between people and books. So many people nowadays frequently do the things featured in the labyrinths here. In the book community, there are tons of individuals who point out and complain about how people don’t really read books like they used to. And how some will just get books that they’ll never read to fill up a bookshelf so they’ll look smart. Or how people will frequently just look up summaries or exclusively use Spark Notes and [Insert Book Title] for Dummies instead of reading. Or how publishers will basically always publish the most popular thing and it’s hundreds of copycats (though this is something that’s kind of always been a thing).
But yeah, it was nice to see a book point this out, particularly one that actually came out before these topics started being big discussions in the book community. I also loved the 🍀 hopeful and optimistic tone 🤞 that The Cat Who Saved Books had concerning books and how humans are changed and inspired by them. Because books are powerful.
I also liked how there weren’t really any antagonists or villains here, not truly. Just misguided individuals who loved books, but who lost their way at some point. The book also comes together and ends nicely.
Final Thoughts
“Books have souls,” repeated the cat softly. “A cherished book will always have a soul. It will come to its reader’s aid in times of crisis.”
The calm, measured voice warmed Rintaro’s heart. He looked over and saw the cat faintly smiling.
“I told you that you weren’t alone.”
The thing that I thought was probably the weakest – or at least the most awkward part of the novel – was the translation. But that’s usually one of my biggest issues whenever I read a book that was originally in a different language. This translation was one of the better ones, but it did take me a couple of chapters to get into it, as the text felt pretty clunky at first. But, I did get used to it after a while, and it was definitely a pretty decent translation.
The 🖌️ novel’s artwork 🎨 was also beautiful. I love the cover, as well as the cloud motif, that’s present both inside of the outside of the novel. The main colors chosen are also gorgeous and complement and contrast one another wonderfully.
I definitely recommend The Cat Who Saved Books to those who enjoy magical realism, like to read translated fiction, and are huge book nerds. I know books that were originally in another language aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, which is why I mention it. But this is also a good book. I definitely enjoyed and am glad that I ended last year finishing a book I liked.
As always, thank you to everyone so much for reading, and I hope you have an awesome day/night!
See ya ~Mar
