Reviews with content warning for Terminal illness - If Cats Disappeared from the World

Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura

63 reviews

readingsponsoredbybts's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional lighthearted reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

Content Warnings

hoiyan's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective fast-paced

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

4.25

if you were given a chance to live another day in exchange for making something in the world disappear, would you take that deal?

this was a nice and short read. mixing in elements of fantasy with mortality was refreshing. i went into this book 100% expecting to bawl my eyes out, but i thankfully did not.

i think the (nameless) mc being a bit emotionally detached from his reality, along with the story's pacing and language barrier/translation helped to removed an extra layer of potential heartbreak. the writing focused more on exploring what the meaning of life, death, and everything that could come im between meant rather than the grief and messy stages of emotions that come with it. i think i would've enjoyed this a lot more if it explored his stages of grief + how he came to accept his own death, if ever.

i wasn't sure if this was an issue on my part, but a lot of the book's narrative "thoughts" on death were things i thought were common in everyone's mind. it didn't seem to break any new standards or show new revelations for me, but again, it might be my own issue. i've thought a lot about everything both the mc and the devil brought up throughout the book's timeline, so it didn't seem overly existential for me (haha...). i really wish i was able to read the original book in Japanese to see all the missing contexts and details that English can't quite capture, but the translators really did an amazing job.

all in all, i enjoyed the writing and banter with the mc and devil (funny dude), and the exploration of pets, specifically cats, and their relationship with humans. or rather, our relationships with cats. i made sure to hug my cat after turning over the last page.

i was annoyed at the mc at first for not choosing/bargaining objects that would be better off earth, but halfway in, i realized the objects he chose were intimately connected to him directly. it added a bit more depth, and more to the world-building/schematics of the devil's deal. the devil didn't simply pick and choose random objects — of course not, he's the devil — he specifically handpicked things connected to the human's memories and life. in our mc's case,

phones, movies, clocks, and almost cats.

i thought that was pretty clever even if the mc didn't notice it himself. i think if the logistics of the devil's offer were explored/explained more, i'd be able to really ground myself into the world and the risks of each object disappearing. i had a lot of questions of the other 107 people who accepted, and how their objects affected the world leading up to our mc. it seemed to be missing a whole system of how this entire thing works in the first place.

the reveal at the end with this entire book being the letter to his father did choke me up a bit. it made a little more sense after that — the style of writing, the quick jumps, and the lack of emotional writing. the mc is trying to reconcile with his dad through this letter post-mortem, and he sure as hell won't be spilling all his emotions when all he's known their relationship to be was stoic and emotionless. it all just really connected for me after that.

honestly, i'd like to strike a deal with this devil if given the chance. would you?

Content Warnings