Cover Image: The Cat Who Saved Books

The Cat Who Saved Books

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Member Reviews

A unique journey of mourning led by a cat who suddenly appears in a tiny Japanese bookshop. The book may be short, but it was packed with so much imagery and life lessons.

The one detail that caught my attention was that all the book classics referred to in this novel were exclusively European authors. This book is set in Japan and I was hoping for titles from around the world (or at the very least a couple Japanese classics).

This book is a must for book and cat lovers!

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I really enjoyed this!! I don't often read books about books and this really makes you think about our love of books and how we engage with/appreciate books. I enjoyed that it was also a journey for Natsuki though the whole pushing the girlfriend agenda always makes me feel iffy (but it's something I've come to expect in Japanese lit)

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The Cat Who Saved Books is an unexpected marvel. Obviously, who doesn't love cats, books and adventure. But Natsukawa's story and unique authorial voice creates something absolutely unforgettable.

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When we first meet Rintaro Natsuki, he has come to a fork in his road, at the point where he’s going to have to take it whether he wants to or not. He’s just been orphaned for the second time. When his parents died, he was still a child, and packed off to his grandfather without any choice or protest on his part.

At his grandfather’s death, Rintaro is in high school, even if he skips class a lot. He’s old enough to have a voice in his future – if he can come to terms with the reality of his loss. And if he can manage to reach out of his own social isolation to take it.

His legacy from his grandfather is a beautiful, marvelous and just barely profitable second-hand bookstore. A place that Rintaro has no desire to leave, but he seems to have no option to stay. At least not until the talking cat Tiger the Tabby swaggers out of the back of the bookstore and demands that Rintaro come with him on a journey to save books.

Rintaro loves books and reading. He also has nothing better to do and no motivation to do it. So he follows the cat through the suddenly endless book stacks and emerges into a labyrinth of wonder and danger. He’ll need not just courage and a bit of cunning, but every single drop of his love of reading to save the endangered books – and himself along the way.

Escape Rating A-: I picked this one up for the cat and the books, in that order. Which reminds me that the cat pictured on the US cover does not do Tiger the Tabby justice. The UK cover (pictured at left) does a much better job of giving Tiger his due.

But the story, of course, isn’t really about the cat. It is, however, at least in part about the way that cats – or any companion animals – can save us even from ourselves if we just let them. And the way that books and reading can give us time and space and tools to save ourselves if we let them into our minds just as the cats do when we let them into our hearts.

It’s also a bit of magical realism that leads into a very modern type of fairy tale. Tiger leads Rintaro into a series of labyrinths where books and reading are under assault in the guise of the love of books combined with bowing and scraping to market pressures and other distractions of modern life to save books by means that will, in the end, destroy them.

I think the story does conflate the love of the container – the physical book – with the love of what it contains and the experience of reading. I’m a bit concerned about that as I’m mostly an ebook reader because the genres I read are not widely represented in large print. If I were confined to the physical artifact I’d miss out on the thing I really want out of reading – the immersion in the story that the physical AND the electronic article contain and present for my enjoyment.

I digress just a bit.

What makes The Cat Who Saved Books such a lovely little read, however, is the totality of Rintaro’s journey. Not just the thoughtfully scary labyrinths where books go to die in the name of loving them, but Rintaro’s first steps on that path to adulthood. Because the story is about Rintaro’s chance to choose his life. To stay a socially withdrawn hikikomori, always dependent on someone else to deal with the world he has retreated from, or to take up the reins of the bookstore and his own life and learn to stand on his own. And that’s the part of the story that grabs the heart in its sharp, feline claws.

Because this is a book about books and reading, I can’t resist leaving this review without including a couple of readalikes. Any reader of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld will recognize that the way the back of the bookstore opens into endless shelves means that the store connects to ‘L’ space, the liminal place where all great libraries connect. The Discworld is not at all like The Cat Who Saved Books but that love of reading certainly exists in both places. The Girl Who Reads on the Métro by Christine Féret-Fleury is another lovely story about someone looking for a purpose who finds it in books and reading and loving them and the people she associates with them. And last but not least, more in tone than in specific, “All the World’s Treasures” by Kimberly Pauley, included in Never Too Old to Save the World, a story about a young woman inheriting a shop from her grandmother and discovering that there are connections to more places and infinitely more treasures than she ever imagined.

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I very much appreciate being gifted this copy of The Cat Who Saved Books
by Sosuke Natsukawa, and the opportunity to read & review it. Thanks to the publisher.

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This was a really fun read that really kept me in suspense. And the people who the main character and his cat friend encounter and save books from are very reminiscent of what we see really going on in the world.
For instance, a scholar cutting up books to make reading them faster, because he thinks even a one sentence summary counts as reading the book, because people have shorter attention spans. It also made me think of the people out there who think audiobooks don’t count as reading even though it’s the same media with nothing left out.
Then our heroes encounter a publishing company run by someone who is so strictly business he doesn’t even like books, and what he’s doing is the same thing that B&N is doing, saying to not bother with books that won’t sell.

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The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa was an interesting read. It gave a unique perspective, with beautiful storytelling narrative. Though it wasn't anything ground-breaking, I would recommend this to all fiction readers.

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What a sweet story, featuring a reclusive teen, a bookstore full of used classics, and a talking cat bent on saving books. I found the slow pace deceptive, for there is a great deal going on between the words. The book weaves together a series of quests with the slow process of Rintaro’s grief at his grandfather’s death evolving toward renewed engagement with life and self-confidence, all framed in discussions of the role of books, ideas, and story-telling, not to mention the publishing and book-selling industries.

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The Cat Who Saved Books is an engaging fantasy featuring books and literature and a squint-eyed look at humans by Sosuke Natsukawa. Released 7th Dec 2021 by HarperVia, it's 198 pages and is available in most formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a multi-layered book. On the surface, it's a fairly simple story of a young man who is going through a difficult time after the sudden death of his grandfather and who, even before his bereavement, was beset by social anxiety. He's shocked when a talking tabby cat visits and asks for his help saving books. On a deeper level, the author has a lot to say about reading, and books, and the love of literature.

There is a lot of literature name-dropping here and especially for young adult readers, there are numerous great works of western and eastern literature mentioned which will give hours of further reading prompts.

The characterizations are very lightly rendered and most of them are not detailed at all. They're not all likeable, I found the titular cat, Tiger, to be supercilious and quite abrasive, for example. On the other hand, the author makes some valuable universal observations on the nature of friendship, interconnectedness, humanity, and what drives creativity. It makes an oddly endearing whole.

The translation from the original Japanese by Louise Heal Kawai was relatively seamless, and I found the translator's notes at the end of the book enlightening. It was easily understandable and relatable to readers whilst still maintaining a Japanese aesthetic.

The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 5 hours and 7 minutes and is capably narrated by Kevin Shen. He delineates the characters (of all ages, both sexes, plus cat) well and distinctly. There were only a couple places where the dialogue was so fast moving that I had trouble figuring out who was who in the dialogue scene. Sound and production quality are high throughout the recording.

Four stars. It's an undeniably odd but engaging story.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

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This was a delightful book bound to become a comfort read for those who love books and a bit of magical realism. Rintaro is a rather shy high school student. He spends his free time working in his secondhand bookstore, which he has inherited after his grandfather died. He loves the calmness and stability of the bookstore but it is seems that it he won’t be able to keep the shop open much longer.

One evening the bell over the door jingles and in walks a cat. Rintaro is confused when no human appears with the feline. He is even more confused when the cat speaks.

“A furry coat, bushy tail, two piercing green eyes, and two neat triangular ears — there was absolutely no doubt it. It was a cat.

The tabby whisker’s twitched.

‘Hey, kid, something wrong with your eyes?’ it asked. This wasn’t a creature that minced words.” ~Loc. 202

The cat has a quest that only Rintaro can fulfill — he must save the books in peril in another dimension. Each labyrinth will test his cleverness, honor, and loyalty. If he fails the words will be lost and Rintaro will be trapped forever.

The first labyrinth is inhabited by a man who reads a hundred books a month. He reads anything and everything — then he puts them in a glass case. Rintaro must convince the man to release the books, and himself from such a punishing schedule.

The second labyrinth is in an institute of reading research. The director cuts up books in an effort to streamline reading so people can read faster, and read more. His justification is that many unread stories will finally be read, if they can be reduced to ten percent of their original content.

The third labyrinth is at World’s Best Books, a mega-publisher that prints and sells anything and everything without care. The publisher admits to putting out junk just so it will make money for his business.

“Nobody’s interested in truth or ethics or philosophy. People are worn out from living. All they want is either to be stimulated or healed. The only way for books to survive in such a world is for them to metamorphose. Dare I say it? Sales are everything. No matter how great a masterpiece, if a work doesn’t sell, it vanishes.” ~ President of World’s Best Books

Rintaro and his friend Sayo must outwit these bookish villains but not through force or trickery. Instead they try to find ways to convince them to change their ways for good and free the trapped books. And while the cat acts as a wise guide, he allows the teenagers to devise their own plans.

The book truly is one for readers who simply love the smell of ink on pages, of old bindings, overpacked shelves, wobbling stacks, and a feline companion. It shines in its simplicity of phrasing even as it shares some ageless wisdom.

“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 a mere scrap of paper. But a book that has been cherished and loved, filled with human thoughts, has been endowed with a soul.” ~ The Cat, Loc. 1984

My thanks to HarperCollins for the e-galley. Read via NetGalley.

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Sometimes a book is a contradiction of itself. Such is the case with The Cat Who Saved Books. It is simple yet profound. It starts with a death but teems with a life all its own. It’s short but full all the same. I suppose you could say that I loved it.

Rintaro lived with his grandfather, who owned a used bookstore. When his grandfather dies, Rintaro isn’t just losing the most important person in the world to him, he’s afraid that he’s also losing his grandfather’s store and his refuge. Rintaro is lost and alone- until a tabby cat named Tiger shows up and asks Rintaro to help him on an important mission. They must save books that are being destroyed or ignored. What follows is more than a journey to save books. It’s a journey of self-discovery. And it is wonderful.

For some reason, I expected this to be a book that took place in a long ago setting, not a contemporary one. Once I adjusted my expectations, I found that this is better. Rinataro is relatable and I couldn’t help but want to heal the hurt in his heart that radiates from page one (despite his prickly way of handling it). In fact, while there weren’t many characters, they were each distinctive in their own way. I loved getting to know them.

The quests were unique and so creative. They were vividly described, and it was easy to sink into the story. The book has a special cadence to it, and if you look closely, you can see the Hero’s Journey told in a new and heartwarming way.

For those of us who see books as more than just words on paper, The Cat Who Saved Books is a must-read.

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A truly heartwarming story about facing down grief and loneliness after traumatic experiences.

Rintaro Natsuki just lost his grandfather who took him in as a young man. He’s inherited his grandfather’s cozy bookshop and tried to keep up his routines of running it while preparations are made for him to move in with an aunt and to send him back to school. Two of his acquaintances (they may call themselves friends, but Rintaro is not comfortable with being close to others) try to bring him out of his shell and check on him regularly at the shop. Luckily, a mysterious cat appears one day and needs his help to save books from neglectful owners. What follows is a beautiful story of recognizing what’s important in life and how to fight for one’s hopes and dreams.

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The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa

This was a heart=warming story about a young boy, his grandfather, a bookstore and a talking cat.

You will enjoy this fantasy novel if you are a cat lover. A very enjoyable read. Well-written.

Thanks to Net Galley for sending me an advanced reader’s copy for my review.

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Stars: 2.5 out of 5

I'm always eager to discover new voices in literature, especially if they come from other cultures. Those authors always have very unique outlooks at life that you won't find in our Western civilizations. It definitely broadens my horizon as a reader. So I was very eager to pick up this book when I saw it on NetGalley - a translation of an new Japanese author, and we have a talking cat who saves books? What is there not to like?

Well, the writing, as it turns out. 

The story itself is interesting and rather uplifting - we follow Rintaro, a very shy and introverted high school student, who is trying to deal with the sudden death of his grandfather, who had been his only family for all these years. It doesn't help that Rintaro is a literal shut-in with severe social anxiety, and that the safe bubble that he'd built in his grandfather's bookshop is about to burst. Then a talking cat appears and takes him on a fantastical adventure to save books and find his own voice. By the end of the journey, Rintaro finally discovers his own value and decides what he wants to do in life. 

It is a nice coming of age story that would definitely appeal to a younger audience... and a book I would never have picked up if I'd known it was aimed at the younger adult audience. I don't read YA. This book just reaffirmed all the reasons why I don't. 

The writing, as I had mentioned earlier, is simplistic at best. I don't know if it's due to so many nuances getting lost in translation, as they inevitably do, or if the original was written this way as well. It might have been, if it was intended for a 12+ audience, even if it was classified as General Fiction (Adult) on NetGalley.

Problem with this book is that it does a lot of telling and almost zero showing. Everything has to be spelled out for the reader. We are told how Rintaro feels and what he thinks of his few friends or people he encounters, but there is nothing in the writing that shows these reactions. It might also be that the author is Japanese, so he relies on Japanese stereotypes that would be familiar to a younger Japanese audience, but that are rather foreign to us.

For example, Sayo, the class representative, came across as pushy, rude, and judgmental of Rintaro every time I read about her... Yet, he admires her for being a straight talker and very dedicated to her duties. And he just takes her verbal abuse like it's normal. 

Another problem is that I can't even visualize these characters. What does Rintaro look like? His only distinctive feature are his glasses that he likes to fiddle with. Same for Sayo. She could be any other Japanese high school student from the street and it wouldn't make a difference. Or Akiba? Heck, the only character who gets a real description is Tiger the cat. Maybe that's normal for Japanese novels. Maybe relying on common stereotypes is good enough for that audience. Me, it just left me rather bored. I felt like I was following a shadow play on the wall, where characters are blank cutouts. 

So all in all, it really wasn't my cup of tea, even if it gave me a peak, of sorts, into the life of an insecure teenage boy living in a second hand book store somewhere in Japan. I wanted a bit more than that though, but it was probably just a matter of managing my expectations.

PS: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Natsuki Rintaro, a lonely teenage high school student, has just lost his grandfather and is faced with the task of closing Natsuki Books, the second-hand book store owned by his grandfather, when he is visited by a mysterious talking cat. and who convinces him to help free books from their negligent owners.
Through a series of "labyrinths" accessed by a mysterious light that opens a portal in the back wall of the bookstore, Rintaro moves to parallel worlds where he will face increasingly difficult opponents until he frees all the books.
This is a story with which many lovers of books and cats could identify, for example, I have a growing list of unread books and although not all of them are physical, they are sometimes forgotten. That yes, destroy a book, that never!
A charming story, in which the main character finds in himself courage and bravery that he did not think he was capable of, a charming talking cat (sometimes I wish my cats could talk too!) and a teenage love that is born between books. An unusual story that touches the heart of the reader.

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I love this book. I love this book so much. The translation is impeccable. This book has everything I want from a book, and I cannot recommend it enough. Such a wonderful and lovely story, and I can't wait for our order to come in so I can share it with certain students.

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This was a fun and uplifting story. The messages that Natsukawa conveys are insightful. Being a lover of both cats and books, I really enjoyed this novel. 3.5 stars

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Thank you to netgalley for providing an e-galley for review. The Cat Who Saved Books felt like an old Japanese folktale told in a modern, refreshed manner. Rintaro is a shut in who loses his grandfather and is about to lose his grandfather's bookstore, when a talking cat shows up and demands his help saving books. Along the way, Rintaro finds courage, confidence, friendship and empathy. This is a quietly powerful book about the importance of self, books and friends.

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This is a cute story of Rintaro, a high school boy who looses his grandfather. Shortly after the grandfather's passing Rintaro is visited by a cat who needs his help saving books. Over the course of four labyrinths Rintaro not only saves the books but he finds himself. It is a fun coming of age story focusing on grief and discovery. Rintaro thought no one cared but that was far from the truth and he could only see that by going on this journey.

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What a delightful adventure! Any book that features a cat is an automatic must read for me and this was no exception! I loved the messages and the journey that was taken and will definitely be looking out for more of this author's work in the future!

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