Hiro Arikawa

What an absolutely delightful little book! This is the quirky story of Saturo, a young man in Japan who adopts a stray cat and names him Nana, meaning seven, based on the shape of his tale. Later in the story the two go on a road trip to find Nana a new owner because circumstances have changed for Saturo.

The trip brings them across many of Saturo’s friends. They meet up with his friend Kosuke, whose wife has left him, and relive their childhood memories of raising another kitten, and Kosuke’s difficult relationship with his austere father. They visit the farmer Yoshimine, a pet-friendly B’n’B run by Sugi and Chikako, and spend time with the well-meaning but socially awkward Aunt Noriko. Nana does not seem to fit in at any of these places, but loves the road-trip, and is captivated by the grandeur of Mount Fuji and the warmth of an old fashioned tube television. The book is partly narrated by Nana with a wit and cynicism that sounds the way you would imagine a cat to think. It is a poignant but endearing read. 5 stars for me.… (mehr)

Sentimental Road Story
Review of the Viking Canada hardcover (October 23, 2018) translated by Philip Gabriel from the Japanese language original 旅猫リポート [Travel Cat Report] (November 1, 2012).

For what is initially an unexplained reason, Satoru must give up his cat Nana. He travels around visiting various childhood friends and family in order to seek an appropriate caregiver for his beloved cat. Most of the enjoyment here was hearing Nana the Cat's opinions about the situation and their observations about humans, animals and life in general. The reveal is pretty easy to guess and the story takes a sentimental turn in the end. The cat, who was more sardonic and cynical at first, turns sentimental in the end as well. It was a pleasant and easy read.

Trivia and Links

Poster for the Japanese language movie adaptation of The Travelling Cat Chronicles. Image sourced from IMDb (link below)

This novel was adapted for the Japanese language movie The Travelling Cat Chronicles (2018). You can watch an English subtitled trailer here.… (mehr)