Reviews

If Cats Disappeared From The World by Genki Kawamura

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athirah_idrus's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

For some reason there’s been a proliferation of translated books centring around cats, especially in Japanese translated works. I was enamoured with Hiro’s work, The Travelling Cat Chronicles, and with that enthusiasm, I went into this book.

However, this was perhaps my first mistake – The Travelling Cat Chronicles made Nana, the sassy cat its focal point, and I loved both the characters and the storyline. It’s not easy to write a story which would tug the readers’ heartstrings without it seeming like a deliberate action on the author’s part to MAKE you feel a certain way, but Hiro delivered. I was hoping for the same feeling with this book, but it felt short to me.

In spite of the title, cats weren’t the main focus of this book, in fact, it would only be in the latter part where the main character would talk about his cats Cabbage and Lettuce. The book was more of a reflection of 30-year old, where he contemplated life and the things that he could live with or without. His reflections were pretty interesting, it was like someone questioning his raison d’etre and I was all here for it.

However, the pacing in the beginning was too slow that I even contemplated giving it a rating below 3. I felt like the author was meandering as he was trying to find his flow to set the story. As the story progressed, thankfully, we were given flashbacks of the author and his past relationships, which became more interesting. I loved the relationship the main character had with his mother and this was where the book shined.

Overall, the book had its moments, but I would only recommend it if you’re looking for a quick, heartfelt story.