A review by raenyreads
The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa

emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

The story follows Nana (cat) and Satoru (owner) as they travel around Japan visiting Satoru's friends for a reason yet unknown to Nana. I love books in which we get an animal PoV, and Nana's parts definitely add so much to the story. I really enjoyed his and Satoru's perspectives as they met with the old friends, each of which contributed important aspects to the overall plot.

I went into this book knowing it was going to be really emotional as I had read some reviews (spoiler-free of course) before buying it as a gift, but I wasn't sure how hard it was going to hit. Before reading this book, a book had never made me cry before, and I've read some sad books, but I was told this could be the one and was sort of anticipating what my reaction would be. Well, people were right. I'm a big cat lover and grew up with cats, so the relationships depicted were highly relateable and indeed made me cry. Not a full sob, but some tears did escape.

I want to stress, without giving away any spoilers, don't make any assumptions about why this book is so emotional because I think it will surprise you. It's a very heartwarming and, in some ways, comforting read, but the emotions do hit hard. If you are an animal lover, I think you'll relate to Satoru a lot.

Overall, this was a 5🌟 read for me. How could I give it anything less with the emotional journey it took me on. I highly recommend this book and highly commend the author and translator for communicating the emotions within the story.