The Cat Who Saved Books: A Novel

by Sosuke Natsukawa, Louise Heal Kawai (Translator)

Overview

AN INDIE NEXT PICK!

From the #1 bestselling author in Japan comes a celebration of books, cats, and the people who love them, infused with the heartwarming spirit of The Guest Cat and The Travelling Cat Chronicles.

Bookish high school student Rintaro Natsuki is about to close the secondhand bookstore he inherited from his beloved bookworm grandfather. Then, a talking cat appears with an unusual request. The feline asks for—or rather, demands—the teenager’s help in saving books with him. The world is full of lonely books left unread and unloved, and the cat and Rintaro must liberate them from their neglectful owners. 

Their mission sends this odd couple on an amazing journey, where they enter different mazes to set books free. Through their travels, the cat and Rintaro meet a man who leaves his books to perish on a bookshelf, an unwitting book torturer who cuts the pages of books into snippets to help people speed read, and a publishing drone who only wants to create bestsellers. Their adventures culminate in one final, unforgettable challenge—the last maze that awaits leads Rintaro down a realm only the bravest dare enter . . . 

An enthralling tale of books, first love, fantasy, and an unusual friendship with a talking cat, The Cat Who Saved Books is a story for those for whom books are so much more than words on paper. 

Translated from the Japanese by Louise Heal Kawai.

"Cats, books, young love, and adventure: catnip for a variety of readers!" –Kirkus

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063095724
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	12/07/2021
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	3,839
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Sosuke Natsukawa is a doctor in Nagano, Japan. His first book Kamisama No Karute (God’s Medical Records) won the Shogakukan Fiction Prize and received 2nd Place at the Japan Bookseller Awards. It sold over 1.5 million copies and was adapted into a film in Japan.

Editorial Reviews

10/04/2021

In Natsukawa’s wispy, allegorical English-language debut, a shy teen and a talking cat go on a series of adventures to save books and reading for mankind. Rintaro, a high school student, has always been an introvert, with self-professed hikikomori (reclusive) tendencies that only intensify following the death of his beloved grandfather, the proprietor of a small secondhand bookstore, which he inherits. Rintaro is in the process of closing up the shop in order to move away and live with his aunt when he is interrupted by a bossy ginger tabby cat who tells him there are books that have been “imprisoned” and that Rintaro’s help is needed to “rescue” them. Together, and sometimes accompanied by Rintaro’s classmate Sayo, they visit a series of magical locations ruled by the villains who are threatening the world of books—among them a professor who reduces entire works of literature to one summary sentence, a public intellectual who treats books like “decorative objects,” and a publishing professional who only values books that sell. While the premise is charming, this doesn’t quite develop from one-note fable into fully realized novel. It’s hopeful and breezy, but the simplistic battle between good and evil won’t give readers much to dig into. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

This whimsical novel will have many a reader at it’s title.” 

The Observer (London)

"Charming...Natsukawa's empowering Bildungsroman [manages] to be both whimsical and wise."

Shelf Awareness

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.”

Washington Post

"Quirky and heartwarming in equal measure, The Cat Who Saved Books invites us to remember the joy of curling up with a favorite book, and savoring the tactile pleasure that comes with turning the pages and immersing ourselves in a good story."

The Japan Times

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.”

Washington Post

07/01/2021

A No. 1 best seller in Japan whose physician author won the Shogakukan Fiction Prize for his debut novel, this smart charmer should appeal to readers everywhere. Book-loving high school student Rintaro Natsuki is on the verge of selling the secondhand bookstore he inherited from his grandfather when a talking cat named Tiger appears and demands his help in rescuing misused books from their cruel or oblivious owners. Whether anguishing on a bookshelf, cut up to facilitate speedreading, or victimized by publishing dullards who want only best sellers, these books are reached by different mazes, with the last maze promising to be a special challenge. Multiple foreign rights sales; with a 35,000-copy first printing.

Library Journal

2021-09-15
A young Japanese bookseller sets out to rescue books in peril—with the help of a most unusual feline.

After the death of his beloved guardian and grandfather, high school student Rintaro Natsuki drifts into running his grandfather's rare bookshop while waiting to be sent to live with an aunt he doesn't know. Rintaro is a hikikomari—socially withdrawn and isolated from most activities—and finds comfort and meaning in the books so precious to his plainspoken and well-meaning grandfather. His quiet, solitary life is disrupted when, in a bolt of magical realism, a talking tabby cat named Tiger enlists his help in rescuing "books that have been imprisoned." Some of the victimized books are locked away from readers by collectors, others are mutilated by abridgment and summarization, and more are treated as commodities by publishing conglomerates. Rintaro undertakes the challenges assisted by the saucy cat few humans can see, and his quests resemble the tests posed to heroes in myth, legend, and video game. His growing awareness of the attentions of persistently positive schoolmate Sayo lends the tale a gentle wholesomeness. Rescuing the story from sappiness are references to the classic books on the store's shelves, mostly from the Western canon, that have formed Rintaro’s belief system. Lovers of traditional literature and books themselves will find validation in the lessons Rintaro learns (and teaches), while the story’s structure and fanciful nature may hold appeal for a young adult audience more familiar with the conventions of gaming. Tiger gets the best lines of dialogue but…why not?

Cats, books, young love, and adventure: catnip for a variety of readers!

Kirkus Reviews