Hey, what’s up?

I recently finished reading a book that a friend gifted me for my birthday, so naturally, a book review post is in order. It took me a while to finish—not because the book was slow, but because life has been keeping me a little too busy lately.

The book is titled The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa. Originally written in Japanese, it was translated by a Mancunian currently living in Yokohama, Japan. Quite the global effort!

First things first—who wouldn’t want to read a book about a cat? I’d rate this one a solid 8/10. It’s fiction, but layered with thoughtful messages, and I’ve included a few quotes below that really stood out to me. The language is simple and easy to follow, and I genuinely think the translator did a great job capturing the heart of the story.

The story follows a boy who lives with his grandfather, who unfortunately passes away early on. Left to run a second-hand bookshop, the boy is also a hikikomori (read the translator’s note at the end—or just Google it, I won’t judge). He ends up teaming up with a talking cat, and together they venture into four mysterious labyrinths to “save” books. Each labyrinth carries its own meaning and moral, and I found it fascinating how the author explores the idea of how books can shape, challenge, and even rescue people.

And that brings us to the end of my very half-baked book review. Thanks for reading! Some quotes I loved are listed below—feel free to steal them for your next Instagram caption. Bye for now!

No matter how sad, how painful, how nonsensical a thing might happen, time refused to stand still and wait for him.

A cherished book will always have a soul. It will come to its reader’s aid in time of crisis.

It’s far more important than using logic to explain something.