A review by winterisvague
The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa

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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