A review by bibliorey
If Cats Disappeared From The World by Genki Kawamura

4.0

“to live means: to cry and shout, to love, to do silly things, to feel sadness and joy, to even experience horrible, frightening things... and to laugh.”

imagine finding out you are at the very edge of death and that your days are practically numbered. imagine the feeling of numbness, confusion, and loss that goes through your mind to the point where an agreement with the devil is what you are willing to do just to get another day of life to live. but of course everything has a price. the question is, what would you be willing to give up to get a second chance at living?

our nameless narrator was diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer and this is his letter; and will, and testament.

the love i have for japanese literature is ineffable and for that i have to thank not only the author but the translator as well. eric selland did a brilliant job at translating genki kawamura's simple and yet ethereal writing. it was deeply immersive and breathtaking. i finished this book in under 7 hours and that's quite the record considering my recent reading speed which should say a lot of how easily readable this book is for all. it is light and yet heavy at the same time (more on the heart). be that as it may, it will open you up to a new outlook on life.

often times, we don't realise the things we take for granted. especially those that surround us be it a thing, a person, or even a pet. it is only when we are about to lose everything that we realise the love and longing that we have for the things we already took for granted. i don't know how it feels to die — at least not yet — but death has always been a fear i try to do away with. you only got one life and in a way, it is up to you when you should start romanticising life and the little trinkets of joy that it brings because you will never know when you will die and that's a future set in stone. a future we will never know and yet inevitable it is. thus, it is up to us when we choose to live our life to the fullest. to live the life that we see in movies and/or even simply of our own dreams.

genki kawamura explored the beauty the mundanes and the endless possibilities of it so brilliantly in this that i was astonished by how much realisation kicked in that i may have taken life and its beauty for granted just because i am still living. but i am living stagnantly. i take meetings with the people i love for granted and i even take hugging my cat for granted not thinking of how one day — very distant in the future i hope — it will all be gone in a blink of an eye. i did not think of how one day, i wouldn't be able to see how calming the green of nature are, or how my rory wouldn't be with me as i get old and gray. it is such a sad thought but indeed inevitable it is. the realisation that this very book — simple as it is — has knocked some sense into me that we all collectively forget as a human race.

poignant and thought provoking, if cats disappeared from the world is packed with reality check at every turn of page that will open your eyes to different perspectives of the world around you as you have never been before and though one might expect more cats in the tale as the title implicit, it speaks more of our already numbered human life and the things we should cherish dearly till the end of our time. but worry not, dearest lettuce and cabbage will capture your heart and break it still as swiftly as mine did. without a doubt, i highly recommend this book to all who are seeking a light and easy read but also to those who are in dire need of a little heartbreak on a gloomy evening.

thank you so much to my dearest wisha for lending me her copy as well as giving me her utmost permission to pour my heart out through my annotations in this copy of hers. i hope you'll feel the love, laughter and sadness through all of my writings once this book reaches you once more.

☆ where to find me ☆