Book 17 of 2022

Last night I finished The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa. This was a slice of Japanese magical realism, the tale of a young boy who inherits a bookshop from his grandfather, meets a talking cat, and goes on adventures into fantastic worlds to save books. More deeply it is a meditation on grief, and also things like growing up, confidence and friendship. And it is very much a love letter to books and reading. Unfortunately I found the book somewhat unsatisfying, with a stronger idea than execution. I just felt a bit disappointed, especially in the later chapters. But I really liked the idea. In the UK it is marketed towards 18+ readers, but it read more like young adult to me, at the younger end of that range. The English language book includes an interesting translator’s note at the back. Rating 3/5.