Ms. Hen reviews The Traveling Cat Chronicles

 

The Traveling Cat Chronicles

Hiro Arikawa

Berkley 

2015

Translated from the Japanese by Philip Gabriel

Ms. Hen decided to read this novel because she read about it in the library recommendations email. She loves books about Japanese culture, not just ones by Haruki Murakami. She also loves books that are about animals. This novel is from the point of view of a cat.

This novel is about a cat named Nana, which means seven in Japanese. He had been a stray, but was taken in by Satoru, who had owned a cat when he was young, but is now an adult. Saturo has to find a home for Nana, and he travels to places to visit his friends to see if they can take him. He visits his friend who owns a photography studio, his friend who works on a farm, and his friends who own a bed and breakfast that allows pets.

He reminisces about his past with his friends, but decides that none are suitable to take Nana. The cat loves traveling in the car seeing all the different places, but he is terrified of the sea. They go on a boat to an island to his aunt's house. She decides to take the cat. He lived with his aunt after his parents both died when he was in elementary school. 

This novel is sad and sweet. Ms. Hen thinks it is very Japanese. It's charming in a bittersweet way. The cat has an attitude, like all cats, but he has a good heart. Ms. Hen got emotional at the end, even though the ending seemed to drag on a little.

There aren't many books from the point of view of a cat, but Ms. Hen can remember a children's book like this, SOCKS, by Beverly Cleary, that she read as a child. Lots of books exist from the point of view of dogs, because Ms. Hen thinks that people understand dogs better. Cats are complicated, and somewhat indecipherable. People never know what to expect from cats.

Ms. Hen thinks this is a lovely novel, but if you read this, be prepared to be sad. Sometimes, life can be difficult, and everything can seem terrible. But the love of an animal can change someone's life. Animals are in touch with the world in the way we aren't, and they can teach us how to live better.

Ms. Hen and her cat