The Cat Who Saved Books

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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.’

This world throws all kinds of obstacles at us, we are forced to endure so much that is absurd. Our best weapon for fighting all the pain and trouble in the world isn't logic or violence. It's humour.”

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.’

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.”

Three woman who join together to rent a large space along the beach in Los Angeles for their stores—a gift shop, a bakery, and a bookstore—become fast friends as they each experience the highs, and lows, of love. I think the power of books is that - that they teach us to care about others. It's a power that gives people courage and also supports them in turn. [. . .] Empathy - that's the power of books.” I really thought I would love this book about a boy and a talking cat and how together they were going to save book, however it fell flat for me. After the death of his grandfather, Rintaro is devastated and alone. It seems he will have to close the shop. Then, a talking tabby cat called Tiger appears and asks Rintaro for help. The cat needs a book lover to join him on a mission. This odd couple will go on three magical adventures to save books from people have imprisoned, mistreated and betrayed them. Finally, there is one last rescue that Rintaro must attempt alone...

The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa (translated by Louise Heal Kawai) is a book about books. Reading isn’t only for pleasure or entertainment. Sometimes you need to examine the same lines deeply, read the same sentences over again. Sometimes you sit there, head in hands, only progressing at a painstakingly slow pace. And the result of all this hard work and careful study is that suddenly you’re there and your field of vision expands. It’s like finding a great view at the end of a long climbing trail.’ No sé si ha influido mucho o poco el hecho de que llevaba una racha malísima en lecturas y, prácticamente las cuatro últimas lecturas me han parecidos un tostón, pero el caso es que “El gato que amaba los libros” ha llegado a mis manos justo en el momento que más lo necesitaba. Me ha sacado de esta racha, ¡y de qué manera! Si tuviera que definirlo diría que es como si metemos en una cazuela una pizquita de “El principito”, unos granitos de “El castillo ambulante" y unas gotitas de “Alicia en el país de las maravillas”, sumándole a todo esto un toque tierno a lo Kazumi Yumoto, con una narración cómoda y relajada, pero preciosa como solo los japoneses saben hacer, y añadiéndole, además, gatos que hablan y un amor por los libros que se palpa en cada página. Si mezclamos todo esto y lo calentamos a fuego lento nos encontramos con “El gato que amaba los libros”. Preachy, patronising, paternalistic, and just plain smug. The author's love for books is everywhere evident, but unfortunately so is his belief that there is a particular way to enjoy them, and that other ways are wrong and hurt the books, ignoring, for example, neurodivergence, differences in taste, and personal preference.

Combine “The Elegance of the Hedgehog” with “Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore” and you might get a feel for this delightful novel. A talking bookstore cat persuades a young man named Rintaro to embark on a quest to save books from barbarous fates, including languishing on shelves and being “tortured” by a man whose speed-reading tutorials involve scissors.” And when that gets ignored, there's the terrible moaning, groaning caterwaul that sounds like a twelve hundred pound cow giving birth. This last is often in the middle of the night and it is your no longer adorable Kitty telling you she is dying of hunger and she can't believe you would treat her so abominably and lie in bed trying to sleep when she is suffering so horribly. Or maybe just needs some attention. The author of The Cat Who Saved Books, Sosuke Natsukawa, is a doctor in Nagano, Japan, as well as a best-selling author. In choosing a feline for a protagonist, he’s dipping into a long tradition of Japanese stories featuring cats. There were some wonderful quotes about books teaching us compassion and empathy and how through books we can learn about other people and other places.