Clowder Press are always keen to support fellow publishers, especially those who produce cat based titles. When one rises, we all rise, and so forth. So Belvedere and I will be posting unbiased reviews of cat-based works on a regular basis. Strictly no logrolling. We have very different reading tastes, so will be covering all genres, eventually. Here is Belvedere’s debut. Click to buy from Amazon Affliates

The Cat Who Saved Books 

Sosuke Natsukawa

Everyone says this is a heartwarming read, and it is, but it is no schmalzfest. It’s about the transformative and nurturing power of books, and why we must cherish and care for them. At least that’s the human angle; actually it’s about the transformative and nurturing power of Tiger, a ginger tabby tom.

From out of nowhere (very cat), Tiger strolls into Natsuki Books, a tiny second-hand bookshop, where he finds Rintoro, a quietly devastated teenager who is mourning the death of his beloved grandfather, owner of the shop. Tiger applies psychology and asks Rintoro to help him rescue books that are being cruelly misused, (Yes, he can talk). Sliding out through hitherto unnoticed portals in the shop, the cat and the boy go into three different worlds where they save books from neglect, misuse and mutilation. On the way Rintoro rediscovers his courage and learns how to accept and live with his grandfather’s death. 

It is at once a celebration of the immense powers possessed by books, and a meditation on the nature and process of grief, all done with the lightest of velvet paws. Was there a magical talking cat? Is Rintoro dreaming? Was Tiger the embodied spirit of the old bookseller, helping his grandson come to teems with his loss through the medium he knew best?  Could be any one, could be all three. Enigmatic, like cats.

An excellent dreamy read, best experienced over a long afternoon snuggled under a heap of actual cats, who would enjoy being read to.

Paw rating: * * * * *