The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa

Summary:

It’s not the journey that counts, but who is at your side.

Nana is on a road trip, but he is not sure where to. All that matters is that he can sit beside his beloved Satoru in the front of his silver van. Satoru is keen to visit three old friends from his youth, though Nana doesn’t know why and Satoru won’t say.

Set against the backdrop of Japan’s changing seasons and narrated with a rare gentleness and striking humor, Nana’s story explores the wonder and thrill of life’s unexpected detours. It is about friendship, solitude, and knowing when to give and when to take. Above all, it shows how acts of love, both great and small, can transform our lives.

About the Author:

Hiro Arikawa is a Japanese light novelist from Kōchi, Japan. She won the tenth annual Dengeki Novel Prize for new writers in 2003. She also wrote The Goodbye Cat, among other works.

Tilda Rating:

3 stars - ★★★☆☆

Review:

Although I was excited about The Travelling Cat Chronicles, and I enjoyed the premise, this book sadly fell short of my expectations somehow. And I’m quite disappointed because I was really looking forward to laughing and crying like other readers have said they did. 

I didn’t build a rapport with any of the characters. The emotion felt contrived, maybe due to the shortness of the book. Rather than really building on the relationship between Nana the cat and his owner Satoru, it felt like a list of how many bad things can happen to one person to try and force emotion.

I didn’t love Nana’s character, I found him quite annoying and I didn’t feel the love that he had for Satoru. Some of his language was repetitive (scratching a face so much that you could play checkers on it was said multiple times), which made him feel quite one-dimensional. He seemed to flit between feelings of frustration and affection from one sentence to the next. I didn’t know what feeling was real and what wasn’t. 

The language felt very simple, almost like a children’s book, which was maybe due to the translation. I did enjoy that it was an easy read, it only took me a couple of days to read on my lunch break and before bed. Although I maybe wouldn’t recommend this for children because of some of the subjects that it deals with.

The writing was lacking in dialogue, and Hiro Arikawa showed rather than told the story. It all felt like the set up for the story to begin, rather than the reader being immersed in the characters' lives. 

The Travelling Cat Chronicles almost felt like a first draft. Now the story is down, it needs developing and expanding. I would have liked to have heard more about the actual traveling parts - bearing in mind the name of the book. The destinations seemed more important than the journey and I think hearing more about the journey would have built that relationship with Nana and Satoru more. I always enjoy the changing seasons shown in Japanese books and I got a little of this, but not lots. I would have liked to see maybe a couple of days in the life of Nana and Satoru in each season. We got little glimpses but not enough for my taste. I think more development would have helped with the relationship building.

I think it’s an excellent idea behind the book and I enjoyed the story. There was just something missing. 

Obviously this is a good little book if you’re a cat lover. I would recommend this for an easy, weekend read, although I’d steer clear if you’re feeling emotional (bearing in mind what others have said). Maybe pick this up as a filler book between harder/heavier material to cleanse the palate and enjoy reading a short book about a little cat and his owner. 

The Goodbye Cat is on my To Be Read list, so I will be giving Hiro Arikawa another go.