The Cat Who Saved Books by Sōsuke Natsukawa and Louise Heal Kawai

The Cat Who Saved Books is a heartwarming story about finding courage, caring for others – and the tremendous power of books. 'Enchanting' – Observer __________ Grandpa used to say it all the time: Books have tremendous power. But what is that power really? Natsuki Books was a tiny second-hand bookshop on the edge of town. Inside, towering shelves reached the ceiling, every one crammed full of wonderful books. Rintaro Natsuki loved this space that his grandfather had created. He spent many happy hours there, reading whatever he liked. It was the perfect refuge for a boy who tended to be something of a recluse. After the death of his grandfather, Rintaro is devastated and alone. It seems he will have to close the shop. Then, a talking tabby cat called Tiger appears and asks Rintaro for help. The cat needs a book lover to join him on a mission. This odd couple will go on three magical adventures to save books from people who have imprisoned, mistreated and betrayed them. Finally, there is one last rescue that Rintaro must attempt alone . . . Sosuke Natsukawa’s international bestseller, translated from Japanese by Louise Heal Kawai, is a story for those for whom books are so much more than words on paper.

A love letter to those who savour the smell of paperbacks and the act of getting lost in the isles of dimly lit second hand bookstores.

Not at all what I was expecting. Each of the ‘adventures' ended in anticlimactic conversations that put forth idealistic truths about books. Which honestly anyone who picked up this book would probably already believe to a certain extent. This book felt like it was meant to lecture people. Not fun.

Through four encounters with strange book abusers, the young shut-in Rintaro Natsuki is guided by talking tabby Tiger to explore his relationship with his recently departed grandfarther, books and, above all, his own nature.

This is a very charming little book with a light and playful tone and simple plot that still manages to be engaging and, at times, a little emotional. Its four critiques of ways of engaging with books feel like they hit spot on for anyone who's spent any length of time in reading-adjacent worlds like book-tube or productivity-obsessed podcasting.

My only slight niggles with the book are, firstly, that the cat of the title is only really very lightly sketched out as a character. He is really just a devise to push Rintaro through the four encounters and doesn't play much of a role beyond kicking off each journey before largely disappearing for before the action gets going. This isn't a big issue in and of itself, but I picked up this book because of the cat so I was disappointed. That just isn't really what this book is about.

Secondly, some of the writing is a bit clunky and awkward. Not so much that it's overly distracting and it's always possible this is a product of translation, but the book is definitely not the most beautiful prose you've ever read.

Overall, this is a very enjoyable story which should leave you thinking a bit more critically about your own relationship to reading. I'd definitely recommend spending an afternoon on this small volume as time well spent.