Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Il gatto che voleva salvare i libri

After Rintaro Natsuki’s grandfather dies, the only things he’s left with are a second-hand bookstore and his love for books… until he meets a talking ginger tabby and embarks on a journey to save books.

In The Cat Who Saved Books, a story written for people who appreciate books as more than a form of entertainment, Rintaro and his friends visit four labyrinths. The people who live in each of them see books and the act of reading differently from the main character. Through these side characters, the author can make de reader ponder their beliefs regarding the same aspects.

Even if the book’s premise is interesting, I felt like it didn’t completely meet my expectations. While I needed the narrative to be more compelling and involving, I felt the ending of each part/chapter was abrupt.

Overall, I felt the book wasn’t balanced. At some point, I believe I’ll reread it in hopes of finding what I missed this time.

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lana_reads98's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing 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? No

4.5

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darumachan's review against another edition

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lighthearted fast-paced

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

2.5

This novella has a cute and appealing premise, and the detailed descriptions of the characters and the various book labyrinths they visit make it easy to imagine as an anime adaptation.

The plot was not as solid-- the adventures were all quite simplistic, and the various "adversaries" were defeated with little more than a few superficial comments from the main character. Tiger the cat had a lot of potential as a character but was relegated to a minor role that was barely likable because of his aloofness. The plot was further weighed down by a heavily moralizing tone -- sweeping statements about how "nobody reads books anymore" or "these days the classics aren't appreciated" -- and each of the adversaries represented one of these ideas. Rintaro's arguments to defeat each of them also presented a very narrow prescription of what an ideal reader- someone who "truly" loves books- should be.

My biggest issue was with the shallow and pejorative representation of Rintaro as "hikikomori", often translated as a "shut-in," in reference to a serious condition that is viewed as a problematic social issue in Japan. There are a lot of ways that hikikomori manifests but, in general, it describes people who retreat from their public lives and social commitments because they are dealing with severe depression or other serious mental health issues. First of all, Natsukawa's use of the term for main character Rintaro comes across as slightly exaggerated because he is already fairly engaged with multiple people in his life, and he is regularly at work in the family bookshop. But throughout the novella, multiple comments fed into the harmful stereotypes about hikikomori -- for example, that Rintaro is a "moody, gloomy bookworm" and "a hopeless shut-in" -- but most frustratingly, that Rintaro's real problem is that he is just too focused on himself and that he can "get over" being a hikikomori by thinking about other people and to stop being so selfish.

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lidia7's review against another edition

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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. :)

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