Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa

10 reviews

bookworm_haley's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer and Chronic illness

Moderate: Death of parent

winterisvague's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

2.5

 "My story will be over soon. But it’s not something to be sad about. As we count up the memories from one journey, we head off on another. Remembering those who went ahead. Remembering those who will follow after. And someday, we will meet all those people again, out beyond the horizon."

As a huge cat lover (I have 14 of them), I really wanted to love this book. Unfortunately, the writing was subpar, maybe even bland. I don't know if it's a translation issue, but alas. Furthermore, the constant shift between the cat's perspective and the third-person narrative also created a sense of dissonance.

I really liked the heart-warming moments between Sotaru and Nana, and I enjoyed seeing the story through Nana's eyes. However, all the flashbacks in-between bored me, and I felt that plenty of them were quite irrelevant to the story as a whole. I wanted to be taken along on this bittersweet journey with Nana and Sotaru, but instead, half of the book consisted of memories from Sotaru's past. Some of them were relevant for context, but others just dragged on.

Despite all the things I didn't like, I would be lying if I said the ending didn't bring me to tears. The last portion of the book was so bittersweet, and it moved me. It makes up for the other 60% of the book that I didn't quite enjoy. I'm gonna go and give my cats a big hug now. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Death, and Chronic illness

Minor: Animal death

dakotahreads's review

adventurous emotional funny sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Animal death, Death of parent, and Chronic illness

kaylamoran's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

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

4.5

I'm having a hard time writing this review because I can't see through my tears.  This one hits in the feels, hard.  It's impossible not to fall in love with the characters Arikawa writes in this book, she manages to capture humanity in a way few authors I've read do.  I definitely want to read more of her work if it's been translated into English

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer and Death

Moderate: Grief, Car accident, Chronic illness, and Death of parent

homebodywitch's review

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Car accident, Chronic illness, Death of parent, and Animal death

seforana's review against another edition

adventurous emotional lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Blood, Death, and Grief

sjcou's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Death of parent, Death, Grief, Terminal illness, and Cancer

Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Car accident, Death of parent, Infertility, and Medical content

lostpaperbacks's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness and Death

noot's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, and Terminal illness

quincy_kay_reads's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Grief, and Terminal illness