JANUARY 2022 - AudioFile
Kevin Shen offers a heartwarming narration of Natsukawa’s tale of a magical cat and a lonely boy who loves books. After the death of his grandfather, a withdrawn Japanese schoolboy named Rintaro takes over his grandfather’s bookshop. Enter a talking tabby who enlists Rintaro in a series of book-rescue quests. Shen’s skill with characterization nicely colors the adventuresome, witty story, which will appeal to adults of all ages. He adds a tone of puzzlement to his pleasant tenor for Rintaro at the start, then mixes in confidence as the story progresses. The cat sounds like a clubby Englishman. The imprisoner of books drips sarcasm. The book mutilator screeches. The mass-market bookseller booms. And Rintaro’s classmates sound like young teens everywhere. This is a sweet and uplifting listen. A.C.S. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
10/04/2021
In Natsukawa’s wispy, allegorical English-language debut, a shy teen and a talking cat go on a series of adventures to save books and reading for mankind. Rintaro, a high school student, has always been an introvert, with self-professed hikikomori (reclusive) tendencies that only intensify following the death of his beloved grandfather, the proprietor of a small secondhand bookstore, which he inherits. Rintaro is in the process of closing up the shop in order to move away and live with his aunt when he is interrupted by a bossy ginger tabby cat who tells him there are books that have been “imprisoned” and that Rintaro’s help is needed to “rescue” them. Together, and sometimes accompanied by Rintaro’s classmate Sayo, they visit a series of magical locations ruled by the villains who are threatening the world of books—among them a professor who reduces entire works of literature to one summary sentence, a public intellectual who treats books like “decorative objects,” and a publishing professional who only values books that sell. While the premise is charming, this doesn’t quite develop from one-note fable into fully realized novel. It’s hopeful and breezy, but the simplistic battle between good and evil won’t give readers much to dig into. (Dec.)
From the Publisher
This whimsical novel will have many a reader at it’s title.” — The Observer (London)
"Lovers of traditional literature and books themselves will find validation in the lessons Rintaro learns (and teaches), while the story’s structure and fanciful nature may hold appeal for a young adult audience more familiar with the conventions of gaming …Cats, books, young love, and adventure: catnip for a variety of readers!" — Kirkus Reviews
"Charming." — Publishers Weekly
“Bibliophiles will dote on this charming import from Japan, smoothly translated by Louise Heal Kawai.” — Library Journal
"Natsukawa's empowering Bildungsroman [manages] to be both whimsical and wise." — Shelf Awareness
"Quirky and heartwarming in equal measure, The Cat Who Saved Books invites us to remember the joy of curling up with a favorite book, and savoring the tactile pleasure that comes with turning the pages and immersing ourselves in a good story." — The Japan Times
“Combine “The Elegance of the Hedgehog” with “Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore” and you might get a feel for this delightful novel. A talking bookstore cat persuades a young man named Rintaro to embark on a quest to save books from barbarous fates, including languishing on shelves and being “tortured” by a man whose speed-reading tutorials involve scissors.” — Washington Post
The Observer (London)
This whimsical novel will have many a reader at it’s title.”
Shelf Awareness
"Charming...Natsukawa's empowering Bildungsroman [manages] to be both whimsical and wise."
Washington Post
Combine “The Elegance of the Hedgehog” with “Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore” and you might get a feel for this delightful novel. A talking bookstore cat persuades a young man named Rintaro to embark on a quest to save books from barbarous fates, including languishing on shelves and being “tortured” by a man whose speed-reading tutorials involve scissors.”
The Japan Times
"Quirky and heartwarming in equal measure, The Cat Who Saved Books invites us to remember the joy of curling up with a favorite book, and savoring the tactile pleasure that comes with turning the pages and immersing ourselves in a good story."
Washington Post
Combine “The Elegance of the Hedgehog” with “Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore” and you might get a feel for this delightful novel. A talking bookstore cat persuades a young man named Rintaro to embark on a quest to save books from barbarous fates, including languishing on shelves and being “tortured” by a man whose speed-reading tutorials involve scissors.”
Library Journal
07/01/2021
A No. 1 best seller in Japan whose physician author won the Shogakukan Fiction Prize for his debut novel, this smart charmer should appeal to readers everywhere. Book-loving high school student Rintaro Natsuki is on the verge of selling the secondhand bookstore he inherited from his grandfather when a talking cat named Tiger appears and demands his help in rescuing misused books from their cruel or oblivious owners. Whether anguishing on a bookshelf, cut up to facilitate speedreading, or victimized by publishing dullards who want only best sellers, these books are reached by different mazes, with the last maze promising to be a special challenge. Multiple foreign rights sales; with a 35,000-copy first printing.
JANUARY 2022 - AudioFile
Kevin Shen offers a heartwarming narration of Natsukawa’s tale of a magical cat and a lonely boy who loves books. After the death of his grandfather, a withdrawn Japanese schoolboy named Rintaro takes over his grandfather’s bookshop. Enter a talking tabby who enlists Rintaro in a series of book-rescue quests. Shen’s skill with characterization nicely colors the adventuresome, witty story, which will appeal to adults of all ages. He adds a tone of puzzlement to his pleasant tenor for Rintaro at the start, then mixes in confidence as the story progresses. The cat sounds like a clubby Englishman. The imprisoner of books drips sarcasm. The book mutilator screeches. The mass-market bookseller booms. And Rintaro’s classmates sound like young teens everywhere. This is a sweet and uplifting listen. A.C.S. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2021-09-15
A young Japanese bookseller sets out to rescue books in peril—with the help of a most unusual feline.
After the death of his beloved guardian and grandfather, high school student Rintaro Natsuki drifts into running his grandfather's rare bookshop while waiting to be sent to live with an aunt he doesn't know. Rintaro is a hikikomari—socially withdrawn and isolated from most activities—and finds comfort and meaning in the books so precious to his plainspoken and well-meaning grandfather. His quiet, solitary life is disrupted when, in a bolt of magical realism, a talking tabby cat named Tiger enlists his help in rescuing "books that have been imprisoned." Some of the victimized books are locked away from readers by collectors, others are mutilated by abridgment and summarization, and more are treated as commodities by publishing conglomerates. Rintaro undertakes the challenges assisted by the saucy cat few humans can see, and his quests resemble the tests posed to heroes in myth, legend, and video game. His growing awareness of the attentions of persistently positive schoolmate Sayo lends the tale a gentle wholesomeness. Rescuing the story from sappiness are references to the classic books on the store's shelves, mostly from the Western canon, that have formed Rintaro’s belief system. Lovers of traditional literature and books themselves will find validation in the lessons Rintaro learns (and teaches), while the story’s structure and fanciful nature may hold appeal for a young adult audience more familiar with the conventions of gaming. Tiger gets the best lines of dialogue but…why not?
Cats, books, young love, and adventure: catnip for a variety of readers!
