The Travelling Cat Chronicles
Author: Hiro Arikawa
Genre: Literary Fiction, Japanese Cosy Fiction
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
My Favourite Quote:
“Tell me, Satoru. What’s out there beyond this field? A lot of wonderful things, I’m thinking. I wonder if I’ll be able to go on a trip with you again.
Satoru grins, and picks me up, so I can see the far-off horizon from his eye level.
Ah – we saw so many things, didn’t we?”
My Review:
The Travelling Cat Chronicles is the second book in the Japanese cosy fiction genre I have read. And I must say it lives up to the genre. It is Japanese in its setting and characters, and it makes you feel cosy!
The book follows Satoru, our protagonist, who adopts a cat and names him Nana. Over the years, Satoru and Nana develop a deep bond, but then life happens. Satoru is forced to give up Nana, leading him to travel from one old friend to another, each offering to take Nana in. However, in the end, none of these arrangements works out, and neither Nana nor Satoru is disappointed by this. Ultimately, they choose to stay together. But then life has other plans, bringing a twist to the story that truly touches the heart.
What happens next is to be read in the book and feel heartwarming by the love between Satoru and Nana. As a cat owner, I was touched, and I couldn’t help but look at my kitten and imagine both of us in the ending scenes of the book.
Hiro Arikawa’s writing is simple and keeps you engaged throughout this book. The scenes are neither dramatic nor overly simplistic. They narrate the everyday life of a Japanese man and his interactions with his friends and Nana. Speaking of narration, it shifts between Nana and the author. Whenever Nana took over the narration, I found myself smiling and feeling happy inside. It makes one realize that cats truly are the best living beings on this planet.