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lucyatoz's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
"Grandpa used to say it all the time: books have tremendous power. But what is that power really?"
The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa, translated from Japanese into English by Louise Heal Kawai, is the magical story of Rintaro. One day, following the death of his Grandpa, a tabby cat walks into the bookshop where he spend hours reading books from the high shelves and starts talking to him!
What follows is four labyrinths where Rintaro must go to figure out a way to dissuade people from imprisoning, mistreating and destroying books, using his own logic and reason.
This is a really heart-warming tale, a deceptively simple yet engaging and complex story.
I borrowed a copy of this book from Taunton Library and listened to it on CloudLibrary. I read this for prompt 16, an omniscient narrator, for the 52 Book Club Reading Challenge 2024.
The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa, translated from Japanese into English by Louise Heal Kawai, is the magical story of Rintaro. One day, following the death of his Grandpa, a tabby cat walks into the bookshop where he spend hours reading books from the high shelves and starts talking to him!
What follows is four labyrinths where Rintaro must go to figure out a way to dissuade people from imprisoning, mistreating and destroying books, using his own logic and reason.
This is a really heart-warming tale, a deceptively simple yet engaging and complex story.
I borrowed a copy of this book from Taunton Library and listened to it on CloudLibrary. I read this for prompt 16, an omniscient narrator, for the 52 Book Club Reading Challenge 2024.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Kidnapping, Grief, and Death of parent
kirkspockreads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Utterly delightful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Kidnapping
rinku's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Fatphobia, and Grief
Minor: Kidnapping and Death of parent
xeno_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Kidnapping, Grief, and Death of parent
kappafrog's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This book was disappointing. It felt like an anime you'd find really deep as a tween, but as an adult it's heavy handed and not as profound as it thinks it is. The characters were flat, and everything they did or felt was over-explained. They felt more like stock characters than real people, and the dialogue was often unnatural.
The arguments about literature were surprisingly conservative, with a disdain for anything that wasn't a Western classic.The final labyrinth sequence seemed to imply that the final "boss" was the Bible. While it was interesting to see the Bible represented as a Japanese woman, it didn't make a lot of sense.
Gender was handled very awkwardly. We're told Sayo is smart, but this is never actually demonstrated, and she's shown to struggle understanding books, especially those that aren't romances. Even the translator seemed to notice this because she mentions making the cat's gender ambiguous because she didn't think the book needed another male hero.
The best parts were the surreal details of the labyrinth sequences, and the carriage conversation between Rintaro and Tiger. I really liked the scene where you learn he represents the souls of books that Rintaro has loved. The way books moved in the labyrinths and the use of space in the transitional sequences were cool. Overall though, this book felt surprisingly shallow and mediocre.
The arguments about literature were surprisingly conservative, with a disdain for anything that wasn't a Western classic.
Gender was handled very awkwardly. We're told Sayo is smart, but this is never actually demonstrated, and she's shown to struggle understanding books, especially those that aren't romances. Even the translator seemed to notice this because she mentions making the cat's gender ambiguous because she didn't think the book needed another male hero.
The best parts were the surreal details of the labyrinth sequences, and
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Fatphobia and Kidnapping
novella42's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I think this book was not for me. I nearly stopped reading when he brought out the damsel in distress trope, especially considering Sayo was the most interesting character but it was a short enough book I was able to finish it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Misogyny
aleilvandrea's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Car accident, and Gaslighting
yasaman's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping and Death of parent
dreamerfreak's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, and Grief
lidia7's review against another edition
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Wholesome, very much a children's/ya fantasy book vibe. A bit oversimplified, tropey characters but still a cute story. Also kinda pretentious, the idea that older books are must reads or superior and that books that sell aren't valuable... All in all, a cozy, light read that celebrates mundanity and the power of books and human connection. :)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Kidnapping