A review by sararmn
The Cat Who Saved Books by Sōsuke Natsukawa

4.0

Rintaro's grandpa had always handled the books in his shop with the greatest of care, but that didn't mean he treated them as decorations. He hadn't been obsessed with having some sort of gorgeous exhibition

- he had concentrated on creating a well-maintained space filled with the kind of books people wanted to reach out and pick up, no matter how old or well-worn they might be. That was what had made Rintaro a reader.

'Books have tremendous power. But take care. It's the book that holds the power, not you.'

'It's not true that the more you read, the more you see of the world. No matter how much knowledge you cram into your head, unless you think with your own mind, walk with your own feet, the knowledge you acquire will never be anything more than empty and borrowed.'

'Books can't live your life for you. The reader who forgets to walk on his own two feet is like an old encyclopaedia, his head stuffed with out-of-date information. Unless someone else opens it up, it's nothing but a useless antique.'

When book-lovers talked about books, their faces seemed to light up.

'Being able to express shallow words of sympathy in a sweet voice doesn't make someone a caring, compassionate soul. What's important is the ability to have empathy for another human being - to be able to feel their pain, to walk alongside them in their suffering.'

'In our stifling daily lives, we're all so occupied with ourselves that we stop thinking about others. When a

person loses their own heart, they can't feel another's pain. They lie, hurt others, use weaker people as stepping stones to get ahead - they stop feeling anything. The world has become full of those kinds of people.'

'A book that sits on a shelf is nothing but a bundle of paper. Unless it is opened, a book possessing great power or an epic story is mere scraps of paper. But a book that has been cherished and loved; filled with human thoughts, has been endowed with a soul.'

'Books teach us how to care about others.'

'Books are filled with human thoughts and feelings. People suffering, people who are sad or happy, laughing with joy. By reading their words and their stories, by experiencing them together, we learn about the hearts and minds of other people besides ourselves. Thanks to books, it's possible to learn not only about the people around us every day, but people living in totally different worlds.'

'Empathy - that's the power of books.'