Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa

34 reviews

rosie_valadez's review against another edition

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, and Terminal illness

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

Minor: Infertility

_palas95's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

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

4.25

Such a beautiful story. I loved every bit of it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness and Death of parent

Minor: Child abuse

blueacorn1991's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

Wel écht een tranentrekker, dit boek! Het verhaal vond ik wel echt vertederend, hoe je meer te weten komt over Satoru via de reis met zijn kat, Nana. In het begin moest ik even in de vertelstijl komen. En ook even in de andere gebruiken die normaler zijn in de Japanse cultuur dan in de mijne. Maar overkoepelend is het een mooi verhaal over een man met een zonnige kijk op zijn tragische levensverhaal, die toch zoveel liefde in zich houdt voor de katten in zijn leven.

Ik las de Nederlandse vertaling, die ik persoonlijk niet heel fijn geschreven vond. Het voelde soms bijna zakelijk en wat onhandig. Nana's uitspraken kwamen dan soms weer heel abrupt over, wat mij uit het verhaal trok. Ook werd op één punt manga en anime door elkaar heen gehaald, wat ik slordig vond. Hierom vier sterren, en niet vijf.

Maar qua verhaal niets aan te merken op dit boek. Het heeft me zeker geraakt!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Terminal illness, and Death of parent

Minor: Child abuse

colormecaro's review against another edition

lighthearted sad medium-paced

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

3.0

From reading the blurb, you know exactly what’s going to happen. Read this book for the cosy vibes, not the plot. But because the plot was so predictable, I was hoping for emotional depth which to me just wasn’t there. The last two chapters redeemed it a bit but overall it fell a bit flat for me. 

I’m not writing this because I’m a heartless person who doesnt understand pet relationships. I’ve had some very strong bonds with cats in my life (part of the reason I picked up this book) so I understand what the book was trying to do. But I think as charming as it is to have a cat narrate the book, the fact that the cat is a bit self-involved (in a very fitting cat-like manner) means that some depth had to be sacrificed along the way. Especially throughout the earlier chapters. 

I’ve ugly sobbed at other books ('Mornings in Jenin' by Susan Abulhawa is a prime example), but this book left me quite neutral. Given that it is a book about

a very close pet relationship, death, grief and the friendships one builds over a lifetime

I just think it should not have left me as cold as it did. Based on other reviews this isn’t the case for everyone, so maybe my expectations were just a bit too high.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Terminal illness, Grief, and Death of parent

faithtaylor's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted reflective relaxing sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

All I do is ready my silly little books and CRY.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Death, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Death, Medical content, Car accident, and Death of parent

Minor: Infertility and Miscarriage

imaginaryalchemist's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad slow-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

5.0

I love, love, love this book! It’s such a beautiful, sweet story about the bond between a man and his beloved cat. Most of the story is told through the perspective of the cat, Nana, as he and his owner Satoru travel together. 

I loved Satoru as a character, he’s so kind, warm, and compassionate despite the tragic things that have happened to him. He never let it turn him bitter. He has a good heart. Everyone should try to be a bit more like him. As a fellow cat lover I felt like we were kindred spirits. 

The ending absolutely broke me.

Towards the end of the story, it’s hinted that something is wrong with Satoru. It turns out he is dying from an unnamed illness, possibly cancer, that is causing tumors throughout his body. It’s always so heartbreaking when bad things happen to such good people. 

When he was dying and Nana ran to him I broke down and sobbed like a baby. I’ve loved and lost many cats over the years, and that bond is so precious. So many people think cats are aloof and don’t care but they are capable of so much love.

I highly recommend The Travelling Cat Chronicles to anyone who has ever loved a cat! I look forward to reading Hiro Arikawa’s other novel The Goodbye Cat. It has also made me want to read more Japanese novels!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Child abuse, Terminal illness, and Car accident

The story starts with Nana getting hit by a car and seriously injured. He does recover fully though. When Satoru is twelve years old, his parents are killed in a car accident. It is mentioned that his childhood cat, Hachi, was hit and killed by a car. It’s also revealed that he was severely neglected and abused as a baby, and his parents were actually his adoptive parents. It doesn’t go into graphic detail it is still upsetting. The ending goes into Satoru’s terminal illness and eventual death, which again while not graphic it is very upsetting.

gracie_reads_everything's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Death, Terminal illness, and Car accident

Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Infertility, Physical abuse, Medical content, Grief, and Death of parent

xgabrielle_hx's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer and Terminal illness

Moderate: Death, Medical content, and Death of parent

Minor: Child abuse, Blood, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

hello_lovely13's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective slow-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

3.5

This absolutely nailed the narration style and voice of a cat. It was so spot on that whenever we were in Nana's perspective, the effect was humorous, sardonic, and bluntly insightful. Each of the people that we visit throughout the book has interesting stories, but I wasn't overly attached to any of them. They were definitely well done and enjoyable as well as good at ultimately portraying their intended message. I definitely got teary-eyed at few points, but what I think about when I think of this book is Nana's perspective and how that was written. Although we never directly got the perspective of Satoru, but through each of the different perspectives, we get a very good view of this willfully optimistic friend, even through all the tragedies in his life. I enjoyed this, and it definitely had an impact on me, but not so much that I am obsessed with it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Car accident, and Death of parent

Minor: Abandonment

lanika's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, and Car accident