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catandherbooks's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death of parent and Animal death
martinimissy's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent, Grief, and Animal death
erinreadsbooks's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-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? No
4.25
Very cute collection of short stories about cats and their relationships with and alongside humans. Without the cats, these stories may have been sad and hopeless, but through the lenses of the cats who love them, the characters appear more hopeful and their lives are full of love.
Read if you like sentimental short stories featuring cats!
Read if you like sentimental short stories featuring cats!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Car accident, Animal death, Grief, Abandonment, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
hell1on's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, and Animal death
aisclaradm's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-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
4.75
The Goodbye Cat is absolutely beautiful, with seven different stories about different cats. All of them are written differently, with some being through the eyes of the cat and others being through the eyes of people. It’s such a wonderful book that reflects on how important pets (and especially cats) can be in one’s life. It’s such a beautiful portrayal of non-romantic love, altruism, and it’s a celebration of life — even those lives that are unextraordinary or shorter than most.
I only didn’t give it a 5-star rating because that would imply that I had enjoyed it as much as I did the Travelling Cat Chronicles, and in all honesty, that would, frankly, be impossible.
I only didn’t give it a 5-star rating because that would imply that I had enjoyed it as much as I did the Travelling Cat Chronicles, and in all honesty, that would, frankly, be impossible.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Death
Moderate: Cancer, Car accident, and Animal death
Minor: Suicide attempt and Suicide
danielles_reads's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
“Wow, isn’t this great, Nana? You look so cute in the photos.”
Could he have made it any more obvious he was cat crazy? TMI, if you ask me.
Average rating: 3.29
I absolutely adored the author’s previous book, The Travelling Cat Chronicles, and though this collection had a few great stories, the overall quality was mixed. There were way too many references to stereotypical gender roles in the home that overshadowed the cat content. My favorite stories were the first, "The Goodbye Cat," and the last, "Life Is Not Always Kind," which both had the same sad but heartwarming vibes of TTCC.
- The Goodbye Cat: Sweet and emotional, with some interesting snippets into Japanese naming culture.
- Bringing Up Baby: I did not appreciate the absolute incompetence of the father and how the mother was criticized for having low expectations of him. Their relationship was mostly negative and I don't see why they are together. In a non-patriarchal society, the story premise would be kind of cute but it's impossible to separate it from the frustration many mothers experience in real life. (Though I did laugh at the too real depiction of online communities saying everything is grounds for divorce lol)
- Good Father - Bad Father: Yuck. I can't have any sympathy for a father that does literally nothing around the house and only has rude things to say to his family members.
- Cat Island: Yet another incompetent dad relying on his wife. Though this story was definitely the most interesting of the three bad dad stories, and I liked the bit of magical realism, as well as the frank way it discussed how death affects loved ones. It also felt very Japanese.
- The Night Visitor: Relatable as a cat owner, but since it didn't have any real plot or characterization, it felt kind of pointless.
- Finding Hachi: It was great to see Hachi's life after the events of The Travelling Cat Chronicles, but half of the story was devoting to retelling the events of TTCC that didn't add much of anything! The ending was quite emotional though, and I liked the parallels between Satoru and his cousin. Also I love the very Japanese description of someone’s skin becoming so dark it “looked like it was boiled in soy sauce.”
- Life Is Not Always Kind: I forget if these events were described in TTCC, but I don't think they were. This story rounded out that book nicely, and I really appreciated its frank discussion of death, and how it affects family members differently in ways they can’t fully comprehend.
I'm curious to see what Hiro Arikawa will write next, and I hope it's more along the lines of The Travelling Cat Chronicles than The Goodbye Cat.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Animal death
schnaucl's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
CW: There are multiple cat deaths in this book. None are described in graphic detail.
I thought the first story was the strongest story. It was one of a few stories told from the point of view of the cat and was about his love for the youngest son in the family and how he tried throughout his life to keep him from being sad. Most of the stories were about the bond between a cat and male.
There's also an irritating theme of learned helplessness among the adult men in a few of the families and everyone else in the family having to accommodate their childishness.
I thought the first story was the strongest story. It was one of a few stories told from the point of view of the cat and was about his love for the youngest son in the family and how he tried throughout his life to keep him from being sad. Most of the stories were about the bond between a cat and male.
There's also an irritating theme of learned helplessness among the adult men in a few of the families and everyone else in the family having to accommodate their childishness.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Death of parent, Car accident, Terminal illness, Cancer, Death, and Grief
medini_l's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Death of parent, and Animal death
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