Anything to do with cats, and I'm in! So reading a blurb on this book in one of the earlier Buzz Books Samplers, I knew I simply had to read it! A story told from the perspective of an alley cat. I knew this was going to be good... and I wasn't wrong.

This was an absolute pleasure to read! It was heartwarming, funny, and sometimes sad. Be sure to have a box of tissues near by, and maybe don't read the last quarter in public, like I did. It's definitely a tear jerker! Nana the cat has a very lovable character, and I just wanted to reach into the pages of the book, and give him a good snuggle.

Thank you to NetGalley, as well as the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

This quirky book was a quick and an enjoyable read. Much of it is told from the perspective of Nana, a cat who was adopted by a young Japanese man, Satoru Miyawaki. Initially, Nana is a stray who then finds a home with Satoru and they form a close bond. The Travelling Cat Chronicles chronicles their travels as Satoru attempts to find a new home for Nana. On these travels, we meet various friends that Satoru has made during his formative years and we travel through parts of Japan. This is a bittersweet and nicely written story that will be sure to appeal to animal lovers and those looking for a humorous and poignant read.

Thanks to the author, Random House Canada, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

A Review of Hiro Arikawa’s “The Travelling Cat Chronicles”
Postcards from Japan
Two things that go well together are books about cats and Japanese literature. And that’s what you get with the international bestseller The Travelling Cat Chronicles, which came out in Japan some time ago but is now getting a Canadian release, coinciding with the release of a live action movie of the same name. This book is a strange, but beguiling one – one that cat lovers are bound to lap up. The story – and while I say story, the book is fairly plotless – is about a Japanese man named Satoru who discovers an injured stray cat and takes him on as his own. However, events turn out that Satoru is no longer able to take care of the kitty, named Nana after the Japanese number seven, and so he hits up friends and family to take care of the cat. We don’t learn why Satoru is no longer able to take care of Nana until near the end of the book, and the reason is a heart-wrenching and sentimental one. Expect to be keeping a box of Kleenex at the ready when you read this.

While this is an account of the love between humans and their feline companions, this is also a book about Japan. Satoru and Nana take off in a silver-coloured van all over the Japanese countryside hoping that one of the people in his life might be able to take the cat in, so you have visits to the seaside, Mount Fuji, Sapporo, and most other points. This is, thus, a book about the love the Japanese author has for her homeland, as much as it is a sopping wet love letter to, well, cats. (And dogs, too.) If you’re looking for a tale (or tail?) suffused with all sorts of cultural detail, this book will more than whet your appetite for a visit to the country of the rising sun. It doesn’t hurt that the book name-checks My Neighbour Totoro, because this book is very cartoon-like.

The reason it plays like an anime in words is that the narration is mostly from the cat’s point-of-view. The author (or perhaps the translator) has a kind of “aw, shucks” kind of writing style, so you really see the world from the eyes of a cat. However, since the book is also largely backstory of Satoru growing up, those parts of the book are not told from Nana’s eyes, but rather the third person. It’s a bit of a disconnect in terms of being a satisfying literary device, but once you get used to it, you do kind of warm up to it. In a sense, The Travelling Cat Chronicles is a bildungsroman, the story of a man getting to be a man. You get a sense of how loving Satoru is as a human being, and why he would be so invested in a cat as a companion. (He did have a cat while growing up, but had to give it away.)

This book is an easy, enjoyable read that doesn’t take too long to finish. It’s certainly very different from the types of books I would ordinarily have in my literary diet (and I say this as a rabid consumer of Haruki Murakami’s work). In a sense, it’s closer to manga than anything else because it has an element of personification in creating a character who only sees a world from the level of someone’s ankles. In fact, whether or not you like the book is going to hinge on the fact that the cat is able to see, feel and think as humans do, and can understand humans. (Not to say that cats can’t understand humans, but I don’t have quasi-conversations with my cat, Dot, as Satoru and Nana have.) That’s not to say that the book is perfect.

The novel does get a few embarrassing kitty facts wrong. For one thing, Nana is able to watch TV and understand what he sees. In reality, cats can’t watch television because the lines being drawn on the screen are too fast for their eyes, or something like that. Nana is also able to understand that there are variations on the color red, when, in fact, cats see things in a different way than humans – almost kind of a monochrome. I’m not a vet, of course, but if even I could understand these things, I wonder why the author Hiro Arikawa didn’t strive for more realism in her story. However, that brings me full circle to the anime and manga comment – things don’t usually make much sense in Japanese comics and animation, so certain liberties are taken.

I’m on the fence about this book. I liked it, but thought it could have been better with maybe letting the cat narrate the entire novel. Nana is also prone to making witty remarks – the book is funny – but I thought the tone could have been a tad more serious given what we learn about Satoru’s fate. And, yes, the book may bring a tear to your eye, but the effect is more of one that’s mawkish than perhaps sincere. Still, you can certainly see why this book is so popular and why it even inspired a movie. In fact, I’m now really curious about the movie because I’m wondering how this book would work as a live-action film with no animation in it. How would it handle things from the viewpoint of the cat? In any event, The Travelling Cat Chronicles is a partially successful endeavour. I don’t despair having wasted my time with it, but I could see room for improvement. In any event, it all goes to show that when you combine cats with Japanese literature, special things do happen, warts and all. In my case, I just hugged my cat a little tighter. If you have one, maybe you will do the same too after reading the novel. The Travelling Cat Chronicles is that kind of book – despite its flaws, it’s a very special one indeed. Glad to have experienced it. I’m sure you will too.

Princess Fuzzypants here: Spoiler alert! When you read this book, be sure to have a big box of tissues beside you. It is beautiful and moving and bittersweet. It tells the story of a wise street cat who values his independence. A young human man befriends him as he enjoys lounging on the fellow’s van. It is merely a matter of a cursory relationship where the cat accepts the food the man leaves until one fateful day.
Nana, as he will be named, misjudged traffic and can barely drag his body back to the spot where he and his friend connect. He cries out in pain knowing Satoru will help him.
It is the start of a rare and precious partnership. There are many ups and downs but they are able to support each other uniquely. So when cat and man start off on a series of long journeys to find Nana a new and loving home, the cat is dismayed.
He loves the trip itself, the new places and people and experiences. He simply is determined not to be separated from his dear friend. Each time he manages to scuttle any chance of a new home and resignedly, Satoru realizes that they should not be torn apart. He is a wonderful young man who, despite the sorrows thrown his way, has a sunny and upbeat nature. It is no wonder Nana is so devoted.
In spite of all, nothing can prevent the illness that will part them. Nana gives it his best effort but even he cannot follow where Satoru must go. The lengths to which he tries to be with him at the end are heroic and extremely moving.
But lest you think this is a sad book, it is not. The story of their love and devotion last beyond the grave and we know that when it is time for Nana, the two will be together again.
Five resounding purrs and two paws up.

My thoughts have been all over the place with how to review The Travelling Cat Chronicles! I had really been looking forward to this one, and I think I might have built it up a bit too much in my anticipation. I went into the book expecting it to blow me away as an easy 5-star book, but as it turns out, it didn't quite reach those heights for me.

The story starts off on a strong note as we meet the stray cat who is befriended by a kind, very cat-friendly man named Satoru. The two form quickly form an understanding: if Satoru leaves out food, the cat will deign to permit Satoru to pet him.

"But when he and I had settled into a comfortable relationship, fate intervened to change everything.

And fate hurt like hell."

When an accident prompts the cat to seek out Satoru for help, it doesn't take long for the bond to grow enough for the cat to agree to be adopted and given the name Nana.

The book is told from varying perspectives, and I got lost a few times when it wasn't totally clear the viewpoint was changing. Some scenes are told as a first-person narrative from Nana's perspective, sometimes Nana is relaying story that he overhears, and other times it just slips into a third-person story with no specified narrator.

My favourite parts are definitely those told in Nana's voice; Nana has a real cat attitude and isn't shy about speaking his mind.

"Me, on the other hand, I'm not like that. If things aren't good, I have no problem saying so. Because cats are creatures that can say no."

As the story progressed, I started getting a bit irked with some of the awkward phrasing. I'm not sure how much of that is the translation itself, how much is that it uses a lot of non-North American phrases (although those usually do not bother me at all, they stuck out here and effectively pulled me out of the story several times), or how much is just maybe that's the way the original story was written.

Just as I'd reluctantly started to admit that this was not going to be any more than a 3-star book for me, I hit the the last 20% of the story and it put me through the emotional wringer. This book clearly got under my skin, awkward writing and all, and that is a true sign of a good story teller.

4-big-box-of-tissues stars for The Travelling Cat Chronicles.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for providing me with a DRC of this book.

The Travelling Cat Chronicles review - no spoilers -
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"As we count up the memories from one journey, we head off on another."
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I was really taken aback by this sweet story. Narrated primarily by the cat, Nana, a tale is pieces together on how the stray cat came to be owned by his master Satoru as well as the various friendships Satoru has and how they were formed - which are told to us as he is trying to re-home Nana. It's not a long story but it's well written and the translation is excellent. A must read for those who love cats. But reader be warned, this will pull at your heartstrings.
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I would recommend this for fans of A Dogs Purpose and Lily and the Octopus. Be sure to check it out later this month !
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Many thanks to #netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Oh my heart! If you have ever loved a cat, you have to read this book! Oh the feels!
Poignant and bitter-sweet, this book will reach into your very heart and soul. 5 stars is not enough. A galaxy of stars...no ALL THE STARS!

In this tender story, a man - Satoru, adopts a stray cat he calls Nana. Nana bears a striking resemblance to Satoru's childhood cat. Both Satoru and Nana have had a rough past, but they bring much love and joy to each other's lives and form a life long bond. Several years later they depart on an epic adventure, traveling across Japan in the silver van Nana once loved to sleep on, as Satoru is forced to find a new home for his beloved cat Nana. While traveling they visit three of Satoru's oldest and dearest friends. As Satoru decides that each of these homes are not right for Nana, they continue on their journey together experiencing beauty in many forms.

This book delves into the way we experience love and how we form connections, as well as how our past defines us.

I cannot express how much I enjoyed this book. Arikawa's exquisite prose is truly a thing of beauty. Any cat lover would have no problem imagining every twitch and trait of the dear little cat Nana.

I would highly recommend this book, but i suggest having a box of tissue nearby. I suspect I would not be alone in shedding a tear or two over this book.

As Satoru travels Japan trying to find someone to look after his cat, Nana, we get glimpses into the lives of Satoru's friends and the reason they have been chosen on this quest. These stories are interspersed with insights narrated by Nana the cat and compelling descriptions of the beautiful countryside through which they travel.
It is a lovely depiction of the relationship between animals and their human caregivers.

I tried twice to get this book from Netgalley, that is how badly I wanted to read it.  I mean, come on, most of the book is narrated by a cat! How could I not!? Thankfully I was able to a copy and absolutely devoured it one sitting. This book has been published since November 2017 but will be published in paperback on October 23, 2018.

I have noticed that I have an affinity for translated Japanese and Korean books. There is something about the style that really speaks to me. Haruki Murakami (who also likes to write about cats) and Han Kang are two of my going favourite authors at the moment and I may have to add Arikawa to the list as well. This book is translated by Philip Gabriel, the same man responsible for translating most of Murakami's works, and I get the impression he is the best at what he does.

I am not a crier. I don't think I have ever cried reading a book but damn, this one brought me really close. I was on the brink of a sad but uplifting-ugly-cry with this story that will bring just about anyone to the same soppy-state.

Nana, as you come to know him, was a stray cat for most of his life and proudly so. He regularly sat on top of a silver van in suburban Japan and one day a young man greeted him. His name is Satoru. Satoru begins to leave out food for Nana, which he cautiously eats. Humans are fickle and are not to be depended on. However, one day Nana gets hit by a car and is left with injuries, that, if left untreated will kill him. He slinks over to where the van is located and screams as loud as he can for Satoru, the only human he has a remote connection with. Satoru takes care of Nana and gives him his peculiar name. Nana is similar to a cat that Satoru grew up with and was tragically separated from after the tragic accident that killed his parents. After caring for Nana for a few months, Satoru however, abruptly decides to try and rehome Nana with no explanation to the reader, despite his clear reluctance to the idea and his extreme attachment to Nana. Satoru takes Nana on a road trip to visit his old school friends in order to find a comfortable and suitable home for Nana.  None of the homes seems to fit the bill but with each visit, you learn more about Satoru's elusive past and the tragic reason why he feels the need to find a new home for his beloved cat. Nana tries to pretend that he is fine with being rehomed but as the trip progresses he realizes that he does not want to belong to anyone else but Satoru.

Love, family, friends, and loyalty are some of the main themes in this novel all which are sure to hit you right in the feels, even if you are not a cat-lover, though ESPECIALLY if you are a cat lover. The narrative style is light and easy and the author does a great job of slowly piecing together the life of Satoru for the reader and in creating intrigue with Satoru and his mysterious troubles. By the end of the story, I will say that the majority of readers will be in some form of crying; whether withheld tears, free-flow or the all-out ugly-cry.

This story is accessible to every reader and is an easy book to recommend to nearly any family member or friend. This is actually one of those few books I will go out of my way to add to my physical library so that I can re-read and lend out again and again.

I loved this book so much! The Travelling Cat Chronicles is such a beautiful, moving story about a cat named Nana and his beloved human Satoru, and the road trip they take to find Nana a new home. Along the way, they reconnect with people from Satoru's past, old friends from school who may be trusted to give Nana a loving family. The reason Satoru needs to give Nana up isn't revealed till later in the book, but the truth is that Nana doesn't want to leave Satoru. And as the road trip progresses and one excuse after another renders each potential new home the wrong fit, Nana and Satoru end up having a lovely adventure and creating beautiful memories together.

This book just took hold of my heart from the very first moment when Satoru discovers a stray cat lounging on the hood of his silver van. Arikawa imagines such a beautifully distinctive voice for Nana that I can just imagine a feisty feline actually thinking these thoughts and acting this way. (Kudos as well to Peter Gabriel for translating Arikawa's words so beautifully!) Nana begrudgingly takes Satoru's offer of friendship, enjoying the delicious crunchies the man leaves out while haughtily maintaining his distance as a free feline on the streets. I loved seeing how Nana initially realizes his affection for Satoru almost against his will, but once he makes the decision to live with the man, becomes the most fiercely loyal companion.

The reason behind the road trip isn't too difficult to guess, and without giving any spoilers away, I'll just admit that the last few chapters absolutely broke my heart. I cried so hard at the ending, not because something sad happens, but because Arikawa so beautifully portrays the depth of love between Nana and Satoru. There's a scene where Nana sneaks into a place he shouldn't be in, that honestly, any pet owner would be lucky to have such an animal in their lives.

So often, books that are this emotionally heartwarming about the bond between pets and their humans are written about dogs. As a cat lover, I'm so happy to have this story finally told from a cat's point of view. We also hear from the perspectives of the friends Nana and Satoru meet along the way, and learn about their stories and their lives. Through it all, Arikawa just creates an overwhelmingly warm and loving sense of community and family amongst his characters, and it was an absolutely joy to spend a few hours with them.

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Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

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NOTE: This will go live on my blog on September 20, 8 am ET.

It was a pleasure to read such book. It’s very easy, endearing, funny, smart. The story between a cat and his owner was very well conceived. I especially loved seeing life through the cat’s point of view. What a journey. I must confess that I broke down with painful tears and it was not easy to stop.

Thanks you NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the advance copy of this lovely book. It was a beautifully written story describing the friendship, love and devotion between a man, Satoru and Nana, his cat. When told from the cat’s perspective it is both funny and poignant. Nana tends to be independent and his words are often sarcastic making his thoughts a joy to read.

Satoru became acquainted with Nana who slept on top of his car. Nana was quite content fending for himself in his life as a stray and didn’t like being touched by a human. He gradually accepted being stroked by Satoru, tolerated reluctantly in gratitude for food left for the stray by the car. One night Nana was struck by an automobile and badly injured. His wish to be rescued by Satoru was granted. The man took him to a vet and into his home to convalesce, and the two bonded and decided to live together forever.

So begins this achingly sad, sweet story of the ties and love between a human and animal. Nana is bewildered when Satoru announces they are going on a road trip to visit friends from his past. At each place they visit we learn about people who were important to Satoru and events from his schooldays and his time at university. Gradually Nana grasps the truth that Satoru is trying to leave him behind, and that each friend is willing to keep him, although they don’t understand why Satoru would give away an animal he dearly loves. Nana does all in his power to thwart each new prospective placement.
The trip through the beautiful Japanese landscape is wonderfully described from the cat’s viewpoint. A humorous but heartbreaking story recommended for all pet lovers. A gem of a book.