Reviews with content warning for Chronic illness - The Travelling Cat Chronicles

"My story will be over soon. But it’s not something to be sad about. As we count up the memories from one journey, we head off on another. Remembering those who went ahead. Remembering those who will follow after. And someday, we will meet all those people again, out beyond the horizon."

As a huge cat lover (I have 14 of them), I really wanted to love this book. Unfortunately, the writing was subpar, maybe even bland. I don't know if it's a translation issue, but alas. Furthermore, the constant shift between the cat's perspective and the third-person narrative also created a sense of dissonance.

I really liked the heart-warming moments between Sotaru and Nana, and I enjoyed seeing the story through Nana's eyes. However, all the flashbacks in-between bored me, and I felt that plenty of them were quite irrelevant to the story as a whole. I wanted to be taken along on this bittersweet journey with Nana and Sotaru, but instead, half of the book consisted of memories from Sotaru's past. Some of them were relevant for context, but others just dragged on.

Despite all the things I didn't like, I would be lying if I said the ending didn't bring me to tears. The last portion of the book was so bittersweet, and it moved me. It makes up for the other 60% of the book that I didn't quite enjoy. I'm gonna go and give my cats a big hug now.

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dakotahreads's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Content Warnings

kaylamoran's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I'm having a hard time writing this review because I can't see through my tears. This one hits in the feels, hard. It's impossible not to fall in love with the characters Arikawa writes in this book, she manages to capture humanity in a way few authors I've read do. I definitely want to read more of her work if it's been translated into English

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