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

A sweet YA book set in Japan about a boy and a cat that go on adventures from his grandfather's bookstore. These quests involve rescuing books and are really discussions about the love of reading and how books still have a place in today's world

I requested The Cat Who Saved Books as it features two of my favourite things, not realising that it was aimed at YA readers. While this does not make it unsuitable for adult readers, it probably explains why I found it a bit unsatisfying. Despite it being a fairly short book, it took me several goes to finish it as I was not sufficiently gripped each time I picked it up. It is well written and expertly translated from the Japanese, but it fell short of what I was expecting. Also, the cat does not feature as strongly as the title suggests. I can see The Cat Who Saved Books would work well as a Studio Ghibli film. The story explores themes of not fitting in, grief, loss and loneliness with great sensitivity, and I totally agree with the idea that reading creates empathy, and it doesn’t matter what you read as long as you do. Thanks to Picador and NetGalley for a digital copy to review.

This was a really cute book covering some quite deep topics like death, but very sensitively and written about so beautifully. I love the simplicity of Japanese translated fiction, but the ability to still create such a beautifully imagined world.

This is a fun little story about the love of books and reading.
Tiger the Tabby takes Rintaro, a quiet high school boy who has just lost his grandfather, on various adventures through a labyrinth to help save books from bad owners and there is a lot of deep meaning going on. I loved the characters and the message the book provides for its readers. On the journey, Rintaro finds himself once again and makes friends to create a lovely story about love, loss, friendship and the love of books.

Thank you to the publisher for my eARC copy of this book. I love the premise of The Cat Who Saved Books but couldn’t get into the story and ended up not finishing. I just think this one wasn’t for me.

I suppose this book would fit into genres about reading as well as Fantasy or Magical realism. It is by an author I have not read before.

It's main theme is "the power of books". It has a small cast of characters
Rintaro a senior in high school whose grandfather (who he lived with) has just died.
A tabby cat called Tiger - who only appears to some people and
Sayo - a concerned school friend(female).

In the days following his grandfather's death the Tiger recruits Rintaro to stop the damage occurring to books by leading him into 3 labyrinths. Sayo gets herself involved inadvertently.

Do his interventions work? Why is he so interested in saving the book? These questions will be answered in the storyline.

For me the book is all too bland - the labyrinths feel just too easy. It is almost child like in it's unravelling. I was not impressed.

Rintaro's grandfather ran the old book shop where folk can to browse but mostly didn't buy much. Rintaro was a quiet shy boy. He loved the bookshop & his grandfather & when Grandfather dies it looks like he will lose both. In the days before he is due to leave he skips school & wanders through the shelves he meets a rather abrasive talking tabby cat that demands he comes with him in order to save books. Along with his class president who comes to see if he is alright they visit strange places with strange people who have even stranger ideas about books.

This is a lovely gentle tale where it is necessary to leave practicalities aside & enjoy the trip. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

This is such a delightful read! I mean, I'm a cat lover anyway so Sosuke had me at the title... but I loved the Narnia feel to this, going into the different realms and uncovering something unexpected about life and relationships, and books of course. I so enjoyed how this nudged my brain in a different direction as I was reading and will make sure I chat about this on Times Radio as it deserves a wide readership. Gorgeous writing.

This was an enchanting short novel about my two favourite things… cats and books. I loved the supernatural elements of the plot, exploring different worlds of books. There were so many powerful messages about the importance of books and how they fit into our culture. Whilst the translation may have impacted on the quality of the writing, I thoroughly enjoyed the plot and the sentiment behind the book and would recommend to any book lovers.

This book included 2 of my favourite things, cats and books, what’s more to love. This is a charming, small book, that was so easy to read. It includes a talking cat and other supernatural aspects. Very charming and uplifting read.

Cats and books?! What more could you possibly need! Sosuke Natsukawa's book has been translated from Japanese to reach the international audience and so brings this quirky, sweet and charming tale to the English language. The is a short book, at just over 200 pages, and for anyone who has read similar offerings from Japan you will be pleased with The Cat Who Saved Books. There's a bookstore and a talking cat; this is definitely one for booklovers and collectors.