A wonderful book that’s just a simple pleasure to read, regardless of whether you’re a cat lover or not. It’s addictive story of friendship being pure and sweet, telling of the journey from childhood to adulthood while deepening a bond that will linger in the heart. And though you don’t have to have a love of animals to enjoy The Travelling Cat Chronicles, you’ll find it hard to leave the book without having an understanding of the connections that can exist between an animal and their human. While for those who know of this unspoken friendship, Arikawa’s writing’s will only leave you with a greater appreciation of someone who’ll become family, who’ll make you laugh with their idiosyncrasies, and in turn how they probably view ours. Hiro Arikawa’s writing will also leave you with a desire to travel, especially around Japan, with the landscape and essence of the country described with such appeal that you’ll be begging to go.
Through delicate simplicity, and a prose that’s incredibly enticing, you’ll soon find yourself leaping across the pages of the book as an instinctual bond of friendship unfolds before you. Its tale not so much told as it’s revealed to the reader – that between a human, Satoru, and a stray cat, Nana, (I avoid the use of his cat – because that’s up to Nana to decide). Throughout Arikawa’s writings it feels as though the reader is not just a fly on the wall to their relationship, and of Satoru’s past, but an invited guest to it. The most enjoyable moments being the wickedly sarcastic and inner dialogue of Nana, which only we as the readers know, almost as though we’re in on a secret joke – although Satoru understands Nana without the need of a universal language.
Nana the cat, is so richly detailed by Arikawa that his personality will draw you in, and with each passing page you’ll come to believe that he must be real – the layers built so carefully that his personality is both clearly told from page one and yet still has a sense of unravelling as the pair journey across Japan. His tough exterior and somewhat false bravado making it all the more sweet when he decides to show a softer side.
The Travelling Cat Chronicles tells the story of a proud young stray who comes to form an unbreakable bond with his human, Satoru. Their simple life involving a rainbow of emotions that will leave you laughing at one point, to feeling you should have read in the bath and saved on water usage. The characters are portrayed with such sincerity and highlighted empathy that you’re left with a greater understanding of everyday moments in life, in particular that of friendship. As circumstances bring a coming change to Satoru’s life he sets out with Nana to meet with those of his past. His memories leading from childhood to the present day, and with it the influences growing bigger on the way.
Mixing between narrations, Nana’s voice narrates his life, Satoru’s, and their adventures in the first-person, while the rest of the book is told in the third-person. Especially when reminiscing or facing Satoru’s past, with his friends’ worries, hopes and how they perceived Satoru, revealed to the reader.
There’s no great complexity to the stories told, which suits all the better in focusing the reader’s attention on the characters’ emotions, and at many times to feel a kinship with them; jealousy, joy, grief, expectations, innocence, friendships and family. But it’s the constant presence of Nana and Satoru that ties the journey’s book together. Nana’s commentary being so superbly on point that you’ll find yourself relishing his darker humour, agreeing with his view, or shaking your head in dismay. But as you come to see through Nana’s eyes you can guess both his actions and Satoru’s, leaving you open to feel as they do; to smile at an approaching decision or to worry at another. All the while the shared events of Satoru and his friends capture the man Nana comes to know, and who we meet from day one. Alongside this we see the influences people have upon one another; the smallest thing making the largest impact.
What strikes the most when reading The Travelling Cat Chronicles is the author’s immeasurable empathy in understanding everyday human experiences and the connections we make throughout our lifetimes. Crafting a piece of literature that will leave you dashing off to read more, and maybe, just a possibility of giving a stroke or two to the cat with its crooked tail, just as long as you give it an offering of tasty food of course.
Other Notable Works by Hiro Arikawa:
- Library War:
+ Library Revolution (4) 2007
+ Library Crisis (3) 2007
+ Library Infighting (2) 2006
+Library War (1) 2006
(Please note at the time of this review these books have yet to be translated from Japanese).
Book Edition Information:
Publisher: Transworld Publishers (part of Penguin Random House)
ISBN: 9780857524195
Cover Artwork: Shuai Liu
Translation: Philip Gabriel
Presented Edition: 2019 Paperback
Background image courtesy of Yurii Stupen on Unsplash
