isabezza's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
I was recommended this story as a tear-jerker by my aunt, a cat-lover. I loved our narrative voice, Nana the cat - captured hilariously by the author! Nana was kind and amusing, recognising both the intelligence of himself and the readers. This is definitely an emotive read, and one you could finish in a day. A fantastic read for anyone who would love the comedy of understanding a cat's mind, or readers moved by life stories. I enjoyed that there were multiple short stories from our protagonist's life included in the chapters, however this meant I had to refocus my attention often.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Animal death, Medical content, and Cancer
ksuazo94's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Animal death, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Medical trauma, Medical content, Car accident, Child abuse, Infertility, and Abandonment
sjcou's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
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? No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death of parent, Death, Grief, Terminal illness, and Cancer
Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Car accident, Death of parent, Infertility, and Medical content
patienceholmes's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness and Death
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Animal death, Death of parent, Medical content, and Car accident
atamano's review against another edition
hopeful
sad
slow-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? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Cancer
Moderate: Animal death, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
e_reader's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-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? No
5.0
Oh my god. This book was so wonderful. I couldn’t find a single thing wrong with it, so it was an easy five stars.
It’s narrated in first person by the cat, with frequent asides to describe the characters’ histories together. It has the classic structure of Japanese lit where each chapter focuses on a different person or topic.
I definitely cried at the end too. I think the translator did a wonderful job, communicating all the turns of phrase and beautiful imagery. The flowers, oh man…
Anyway, you should definitely read this book! It took me less than 24 hours and was so worth it.
It’s narrated in first person by the cat, with frequent asides to describe the characters’ histories together. It has the classic structure of Japanese lit where each chapter focuses on a different person or topic.
I definitely cried at the end too. I think the translator did a wonderful job, communicating all the turns of phrase and beautiful imagery. The flowers, oh man…
Anyway, you should definitely read this book! It took me less than 24 hours and was so worth it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Grief, and Medical content
Minor: Alcohol, Abandonment, Child abuse, Animal death, and Infertility
fabs2510's review against another edition
emotional
sad
- 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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Medical content, and Miscarriage
pengi's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness
Moderate: Death and Medical content
Minor: Infertility
anovelbeauty's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
relaxing
sad
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? It's complicated
5.0
Book TW: childhood trauma, parental death, terminal illness, abandonment, emotional/verbal abuse, miscarriage
Oh man, I had a good feeling when I first picked this book up and I was NOT disappointed. This book did multiple things I usually don’t like in a way that I somehow loved??? Sentient animal narrators are historically not a thing I like, however this is done so well and realistically (it felt like an actual cat doing cat things rather than a cat doing human things.... yes, I am looking at you Hank the Cowdog) that I just- connected SO HARD. Also, there’s POV switches between first and third person. Nana the cat is in First and then we sometimes get omniscient third person that talks about the people in Satoru’s life. Theoretically I should hate it. I didn’t. This story is beautifully written and so immersive. There’s friendship and road tripping and just the absolute sweetest moments (and some great laugh out loud sarcasm from Nana). It’s so beautiful that I wish my Japanese was better so I could read it in the original language too.
Okay, let’s talk about the ending now (non-spoilery). It broke me. I sobbed straight through the last four chapters. It went from heartbreaking to bittersweet to heartwarming again. You’ll probably see the ending coming a million miles away. It’s not really a secret. But that didn’t in any way diminish the impact of the ending. It took the book from amazing to incredible. I think it will stick with me for years. Not only that, but you only fully start to see Nana’s character growth towards the end. Before that it’s subtle hints towards growth, but at the end, it will just hit you.
Satoru is a static character in a good way. His purpose in the story is to show how he has effected the people (and cats) around him and he accomplishes that purpose so well. You don’t see traditional “growth” in Satoru because he is on a different sort of journey to the others in the book. He’s so sweet and kind and very, very precious.
The /only/ negative I can possibly say about this book is that sometimes the formatting between dialogue, thought, and action was confusing, particularly in Nana’s perspective. So I occasionally had to reread some sections because I thought it was speech when it was actually thought (or vice versa).
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It’s relatively short and SO sweet. It is something I can absolutely see rereading and next time I’ll prepare tissues. Just, it’s a gorgeous book that has ALL the heart.
Oh man, I had a good feeling when I first picked this book up and I was NOT disappointed. This book did multiple things I usually don’t like in a way that I somehow loved??? Sentient animal narrators are historically not a thing I like, however this is done so well and realistically (it felt like an actual cat doing cat things rather than a cat doing human things.... yes, I am looking at you Hank the Cowdog) that I just- connected SO HARD. Also, there’s POV switches between first and third person. Nana the cat is in First and then we sometimes get omniscient third person that talks about the people in Satoru’s life. Theoretically I should hate it. I didn’t. This story is beautifully written and so immersive. There’s friendship and road tripping and just the absolute sweetest moments (and some great laugh out loud sarcasm from Nana). It’s so beautiful that I wish my Japanese was better so I could read it in the original language too.
Okay, let’s talk about the ending now (non-spoilery). It broke me. I sobbed straight through the last four chapters. It went from heartbreaking to bittersweet to heartwarming again. You’ll probably see the ending coming a million miles away. It’s not really a secret. But that didn’t in any way diminish the impact of the ending. It took the book from amazing to incredible. I think it will stick with me for years. Not only that, but you only fully start to see Nana’s character growth towards the end. Before that it’s subtle hints towards growth, but at the end, it will just hit you.
Satoru is a static character in a good way. His purpose in the story is to show how he has effected the people (and cats) around him and he accomplishes that purpose so well. You don’t see traditional “growth” in Satoru because he is on a different sort of journey to the others in the book. He’s so sweet and kind and very, very precious.
The /only/ negative I can possibly say about this book is that sometimes the formatting between dialogue, thought, and action was confusing, particularly in Nana’s perspective. So I occasionally had to reread some sections because I thought it was speech when it was actually thought (or vice versa).
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It’s relatively short and SO sweet. It is something I can absolutely see rereading and next time I’ll prepare tissues. Just, it’s a gorgeous book that has ALL the heart.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Death of parent, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Car accident, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Medical content, and Emotional abuse
folded_between_pages_of_books's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Car accident, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Medical content
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