Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Goodbye Cat (ARC) by Hiro Arikawa

11 reviews

aleciamcnaught89's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-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

5.0

This book broke my heart but I loved the stories, very talented writer so well deserving of the 5 stars. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent

dionnesims's review against another edition

emotional mysterious relaxing sad slow-paced

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

3.75

reading this book was like watching a cozy, slice-of-life anime. I cried really hard on a couple chapters because I have a pet that I love dearly. be prepared for the feels.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Terminal illness, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Abandonment

thesapphiccelticbookworm's review against another edition

reflective relaxing medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Terminal illness, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent

emmagreenwood's review against another edition

lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Abandonment

sglance9's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Grief

Moderate: Car accident and Death of parent

chris_reads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Really great, though not quite at The Traveling Cat Chronicles level. (I think I just prefer novels.) Though the titular story did make me cry. The others were all good, and she implements it masterfully, but there's only so far you can go with this premise. I would be interested to read what Arikawa has to offer outside the subject. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Animal death, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Terminal illness and Car accident

jstilts's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

This is a collection of short stories that vary in quality and interest, so a bit hard to give a useful star rating. Some of the stories are little gems, some so-so, the final story I almost skipped (but glad I didn't).

The stories all explore family life as affected by cats, usually at least partly from the cats perspective. Maybe, being a Japanese translation, the directions the stories take or fail to take are a little surprising to this western reader (the first especially so). For some reason the majority of these tales depict the fathers as being buffoons or jerks, which wears a little thin - but overall they are interesting insights into Japanese family life.

Be warned, there are a few sad tales.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Abandonment

catandherbooks's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Not sure how I feel about the way Hiro Arikawa chose to write her new book... The only thing worse than a cat dying is multiple cats and sometimes their human companions dying 😭

Still, this is a beautifully written book, my heart is sad but full. I was worried I wouldn't enjoy the short story format in this one but surprisingly it worked really well for me, at least in audio form. I even think I like this one more than The Travelling Cat Chronicles and that's a bold statement given how good TTCC is 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Animal death and Death of parent

martinimissy's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent

erinreadsbooks's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Very cute collection of short stories about cats and their relationships with and alongside humans. Without the cats, these stories may have been sad and hopeless, but through the lenses of the cats who love them, the characters appear more hopeful and their lives are full of love. 

Read if you like sentimental short stories featuring cats!

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Terminal illness, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Abandonment