What a heartwarming, cute fantastical tale about a grieving boy, a talking cat, and a whole lot of books! When Tiger the Tabby cat turns up in the bookstore that Rintaro has just inherited from his grandpa, he is pulled into a series of labyrinths where the aim is to rescue books that are being locked away or cut up.. Along the way Rintaro makes new friends, finds his voice, and teaches the reader a few things about what it means to love reading, and why books are still important in today’s world.

I adored it! Very easy to read, and with that winning combination mentioned above, I can’t see how one could fail to enjoy it, particularly if you’re a lover of books. Sometimes I feel like the obvious is stated a bit much, such as during dialogue exchanges, but that might just be a translation thing. Overall, if you love cats, books and translated fiction, then The Cat Who Saved Books is one for you ☺️

Our hero is Rintaro, a high school student whose beloved grandfather had just died and left him his second hand bookshop. The trouble is, Rintaro is also going to have to close it down because his aunt is his new guardian and wants him to move in with her. Rintaro is shy and would rather be reading books in the shop than talking to other people or going to school. Then a talking cat appears in the bookshop and tells him he needs his help to save books. What happens next sees Rintaro and Tiger entering different labyrinths to try and free the books.

This is about a teenager and a cat and the friends he makes along the way as he tries to rescue books from people who are misusing and mistreating them. Rintaro has to debate the value of books and reading against people who are diminishing them. That might sound a little heavy but it’s actually a charming story about how a love of books and reading can help you in difficult times and is important in a world where things are changing fast. It’s not a massively long book but I read it in one sitting and was very sad it was over so fast. A treat for the bookish and something a little bit different.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Such a delightful read and perfect for book and cat lovers as it is about a talking cat and a bookstore, which opens your mind to asking yourself questions about why we do the things we do.

There were a lot of mixed reviews on goodreads about this book however I found it very appealing - especially as a lover of books and cats! Rintaro inherits a bookstore when his grandfather dies which he isn't particularly pleased with at first as it feels like a burden especially as he is still in school however he then meets Tiger ( a talking cat) who sets him on a mission to save books. What's not to love!

I did enjoy this light hearted read and despite its low reviews on GR I think it is important to take into consideration that this is a story that is translated into English from Japanese so the style of writing won't be exact - but for me thats what made it all the more interesting to read.

Review: The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa
Rating: 3.5 Stars
A heartwarming translated fiction about cats and BOOKS. Sign me up.
‘Books have tremendous power. But take care. It’s the book that holds the power, not you.’
The Cat Who Saved Books is a heart-warming story about finding courage, caring for others – and the tremendous power of books. It starts off being set in a tiny second hand bookshop (I imagined it like Armchair Books in Edinburgh), with books stacked up to the ceiling. Rintaro Natsuki loved this space that his grandfather had created. He spent many happy hours there, reading whatever he liked. It was the perfect refuge for him. After his grandfathers death he felt alone, and thought he’d have to close down the top. Then, a talking tabby cat called Tiger appears and asks him 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 who have imprisoned, mistreated and betrayed them. Finally, there is one last rescue that Rintaro must attempt alone . . .
I loved the overall message this book had, and love any book that combines talking cats and books. This one is incredibly easy to read and can be done in one sitting as it’s not too long too. I loved the adventure aspect with a dynamic duo and quests and going to different places and seeing different readers, and this book is quite charming at times. The quests range from people getting too lost on their books, seeing them as a decoration and kind of flex, or the publishing industry not seeing the value of books and just seeing sales targets. It was bizarre at times and king of weird, but I loved the vibe so enjoyed reading it.
What I didn’t like was that I felt like the cat and the vibe of this book was shaming readers in some of their habits, and Tiger was kind of mean at times, but I did enjoy their relationship with one another.

I really enjoyed this book
It was different to the books I would usually pick up but I enjoyed it all the same

I loved this book! We follow Tiger and Rintaro as they try to save books from misguided book lovers. It's whimsical, magical and sassy and if you love cats read this!
Thank you to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan in return for an honest review.

Rintaro spends a lot of time at his grandfather’s bookshop, helping out, but when he dies, Rintaro is visited by a very unusual cat who can talk and who takes him on adventures in a mission to save books.

This is a shortish story but packs quite a punch about how we all individually read and deal with books. It reminded me a little of Alice in Wonderland as it definitely takes the reader on a journey down the rabbit hole! It’s a magical and whimsical little tale. Never underestimate the power of books - what do books mean to you, that is the question. Quite thought provoking in its way. An enjoyable, delightful, quick and easy little read. The translation flows well, too.

I love cat books, so I was eager to read this. While it is a charming and wholesome read, the story is not one that will stick with me, unfortunately. I really wanted to love this. It has all the components of a story I should love: books, cats and a perilous quest. Yet, something was missing for me. It sometimes seemed a little cliché regarding book lovers, and perhaps that is the puzzle piece that threw this off-kilter for me.
It was an enjoyable, quick read, but ultimately forgettable.

A lovely, heart warming and fun story with a message full of hope and healing, but also the importance of books, as a big cat lover I was always going to love this, an enthusiastic 5 stars

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A simply beautiful fable about the power of books and finding oneself in the modern world. It’s a modern classic. A must-read for book-lovers!

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Please look for the blurb of the book elsewhere here are my thoughts only.

Not gonna lie, I picked up the book based on the name and the cat on the cover, as it looks just like one of my faithful companions. I was expecting to follow a cat in his adventures, but I got to follow Rintaro guided by snippets of a cat, which was a little disappointing, and is as hopping to see more cat action.

I loved that the cat is genderless, I made it a boy as my own ginger cat is a boy, but the personality can easily been read as anything you’d like. Also was very interesting reading from a hikikomori perspective which isn’t very common in novels. I’ve seen more of those kinds of characters in Manga or in short stories, or even a background character within a novel, but I was happily surprised to follow Rintaro and read his point of view and how his own mind work and his social withdrawal was an important part of the story.

I’d love to recommend this book to any book lover, people who love reading and love Japanese literature. Having said that, this book is not for everyone, the translation reads a little slow, and it can get on the way and it might feel clumsy at times, often the sentence construction is a little strange, but now that I’m more used to Japanese writing style, I can see that translator is keeping a big part of the essence of the Japanese culture and language.

If you’d like to start reading Japanese translated book this one might be a good place to start, as Japanese pop culture and the intersection with wester books mixed pretty well during Rintaro’s quests to save the books.

The premise of a story about a talking cat and a boy is what drew me to request the title as an ARC.
Being a story which started off about Rintaro's grandfather passing and hiding in said secondhand bookstore is a dream some of us have had at least once in our lives ( not the dieing bit, but getting lost in a bookstore).

I sometimes struggle with translated texts, however I persevere.
I found the quests to be tedious, and the problems encountered to be minor. Perhaps I'm missing something, but it seemed tainted by arrogance. We don't love books if we don't read classics over and over?

There were some wonderful quotes about books teaching us compassion and empathy, and how we can learn about other people and places through books.
I enjoyed Rintaro's development; through the quests, he gained confidence and began to think differently about his own life, believing in himself.

Louise Heal Kawai flawlessly translated the words and came out easily.

I am confident that many people will enjoy this philosophical Japanese fantasy.

This was a bit of a mixed bag for me - I was expecting more cat and more books, rather than a discussion of high literature, how to read the right way and emphasising what a shut-in the main character is. Part of that I know fits with the style and genre of Japanese literature, but this just didn't rate highly for me overall.

In many ways, this read as an homage to a love for books, but about how to truly use and relate to books, rather than just owning, collecting and possessing them.

The story itself is quite plain and simple - something I'm fairly used to from other Japanese literature that I've read - but that doesn't always make it palatable. Instead we see a quite dispassionate approach to a young boy mourning his grandfather in isolation, and a very straightforward, fairy-tale-like logic to a talking cat appearing and encouraging him to go on small adventures that help to cement his own principles and morals. In this light we see what reading literature can impart to us, even the most quiet or unassuming person.

However, what this reads as is a manifesto about how we should be reading books, especially in a time of BookTok and Bookstagram where having gobbets, popular favourites and a more interactive approach to literature is essential and accessible. Instead, this story tells us that we should feel ashamed for collecting pretty books, getting excited about similar books or having piles of unread material.

Which means that instead of offering a story about the true power of books, this comes across as quite preachy. If you're transgressing against literature by doing any of the things from the three labyrinths then you don't truly love books.

This resulted in 3 stars from me.

Japanese literature has my heart lately and in this wholesome story, our character Rintaro, is a remarkably well read, introvert, shy but recently griefstricken boy who has just lost the most important person in his life, his grandfather
He ran a small secondhand bookshop that few frequented but was the most charismatic place in the city.

He believed that no one cared for him anymore, now that his grandfather was gone, he didn't even attend school, which made him withdraw into himself even further, up until one day when a talking tabby cat entered Rintaro's life and changed his perspective towards rescuing imprisoned books.

When fiction intertwines with fantasy, we get a wholesome Japanese tale about a talking cat which goes along with Rintaro on dangerous missions, where they develop a sense of reflection towards the most important topics surrounding books.

The moral lessons about appreciating your close ones, the labyrinth adventures and the code cracking missions is something so exciting and definitely to be looking for in this book.
I loved this one and I can't wait to read more books like this one 📖
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I got junior The Alchemist vibes from this book throughout.

An introvert, grieving boy is taken on bookish adventures by a talking cat – through four labyrinths and facing four adversaries. His love of books and his grandfather’s wisdom carry him through, and in the process he reconnects with life and with other people, and finds a sense of purpose and identity.

The pace is very slow and quiet, with a tendency towards the philosophical, and is perfect for fellow booklovers who are trying to articulate and define their love of literature in a modern world of synopsis, collector’s editions and mass publishing.

Not just thought-provoking, I found this book fervent-passion-for-reading-and-talking-about-books-provoking and can recommend it to book bloggers, bookworms and bookaholics alike!

Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog

I wanted to like this book. But I failed.

It's not a long book, but somehow, against all odds and despite being about books and a cat, it just felt like it over-laboured some very obvious points.

As a bit of a homage to the role of books in society, any book lover will find it hard to disagree with the themes, but the delivery via a mysterious talking cat and a series of mystical labyrinths just didn't work for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my copy.

Such a different book. I enjoyed the story and actually became engrossed very quickly.
An easy read with such a powerful message of the importance of books and life.

Unfortunately this book fell a bit flat for me and I was expecting to love it (books and cats!)
I'm unsure what point it was trying to make and came across a bit pretentious about what books we're supposed to enjoy.
A nice little story though but there are many better Japanese cat books out there.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really love the trend of cat characters in Japanese literature. They seem to really capture the essence of what it is to be a cat, aloof and snobbish and fiercely independant. The Cat Who Saved Books is exactly as I expected it to be, keeping up this tradition while combining it with the typical adventure story that will appeal to all ages.

It's a fun story, heart warming and with a strong message of hope and healing wrapped up in a love of books. I just didn't find it particularly engaging or memorable. And although I loved Tiger the cat, I found he wasn't that present in the story for me.

I didn't realise this book was aimed more towards YA, which explains why I enjoyed it but not as much as I wanted to.
I haven't read many magic realism books, so that's why I was keen or reading this + there was a cat and booked involved.
It was a short book and I could have read it all in one go, but the lack of content stopped me a little. I wish there was more to it, but I enjoyed it overall.
The translation was good i think, so it didn't take anything off the story (I hope!)
But maybe I'm too grown up to be able to enjoy YA as much...
I think at times the MC was too smart and wise for his own age, which was not very realistic.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for approving this e-ARC