The cat who saved books

 by Sosuke Natsukawa

Spoilers

I loved this book! 

This book is about a boy, Rintaro Natsuki, whose Grandfather had just passed away. Rintaro doesn't cry, he feels unbelief and a surreal sense that his Grandfather will come back and wake him up the next day saying it was all a mistake, but he doesn't. After his grandfathers death Rintaro is informed that he has just become the new owner of his Grandfathers bookshop, Natsuki books, however Rintaro is also informed that his new guardian is his aunt, a woman he has never met, and that he will have to move to a different city to live with her. 

For that reason he has decided to sell his bookshop and stop attending school as he will be in a new place with a new school soon. His aunt turns out to be a wonderful woman with a beautiful soul, albeit a bit overbearing. 

Rintaro meets new people, or rather he really gets to know people whom he has seen/met but hasn't really interacted with at school. They try to help him and teach him some lessons on life but he isn't receptive to their subtle comments and offers for help and love. 

One day, Rintaro meets a cat in his bookshop, a tabby ginger with a feisty attitude and some serious sarcasm game, to Rintaro's consternation he hears that the cat can talk, or rather, he can understand the cats speech. 

This cat then takes Rintaro on many missions to save trapped books, as Rintaro is a massive booklover like his Grandfather was and the cat knows that he will be able to help. Rintaro becomes more and more outspoken and learns more and more lessons on life, himself and the power of words and memories. On these missions Rintaro finds that his grandfathers wisdom which was shared with him helped him a lot and he realizes the importance of listening and wisdom that your elders hold. 

On these missions, with the help from a very special friend and a cat, Rintaro manages to save many books and regain the self he had hidden/lost when his grandfather had died. There even is a bit of a romance forming. (Between Rintaro and his friend, Sayo, no the cat...) 

Rintaro eventually decides to ask his aunt whether he can stay and manage his grandfathers bookshop whilst going to school and she agrees. 

Beautiful writing style and a mesmerizing world filled with beautiful ideations and beliefs as well as topics to make one think. I quite enjoyed the novella. It is short and sweet but it packs quite a punch. It looks at grief, love, the future of reading and how some of us misconceive the idea of books. It also has very versatile lessons and wisdom that can be applied to many aspects of ones life. 

What I really loved about this book was the fact that it resonated with me as a booklover on every level. 

Characters 3/5

Setting 4/5

Story 4.5/5

Overall 4/5