A review by dejnozkova
The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.25

This wasn’t exactly my favorite book. I didn’t quite like the writing, and the dialogue didn’t feel very genuine to me; the voice of the book felt almost childish in its simplicity. But I’ve felt this about a couple other Japanese slice-of-life books so I wonder if it’s more just the genre/style I don’t click with. There were moments I didn’t like Nana at all because it felt like the author was trying too hard to make him cold and sassy in a way that didn’t feel authentic. But there were other moments that were very relatable to me as a cat owner. 

This book finally clicked in for me near the end with the “reveal” of the purpose of the trip. The relationships that felt shallow or bored me earlier in the book finally gained meaning to me, and I did end up crying by the end, so it wasn’t all bad. The novel ends with a very strong but tender tone, and rounds out to be quite wholesome. I just wish it didn’t take me the entire book to finally feel emotionally invested.