Books
Sosuke Natsukawa (translated by Louise Heal Kawai)
The Cat Who Saved the Library
A quiet, asthmatic 13-year-old girl and a cat with ears that are isosceles triangles are on a mission to save books from being erased from human existence in this gentle but occasionally tedious novel. It’s another “Asian cosy lit” book, as described by critic Nina Culley – an exercise in palatably marketing translated fiction in which ordinary lives are transformed through magic realism, often involving a cat and a cafe or library.
The Cat Who Saved the Library (translated by Louise Heal Kawai) is the second book by Sosuke Natsukawa to feature Tiger, the talking tabby cat, but it isn’t quite a sequel and can comfortably be read in isolation. Taking place about 10 years after The Cat Who Saved Books, with appearances from characters from the first book, Nanami’s adventure with Tiger is both warm-hearted and high stakes.
Nanami is at her haven of the library when she notices gaps in the shelves – books are missing, and not just out on loan, and she suspects a strange man is the culprit. When Tiger appears in the library just as a mysterious portal opens up, Nanami wants to solve the mystery – not just to recover the books but also to push beyond the limitations from her severe asthma. Through the glowing blue portal is a castle, full of identical expressionless men. These grey men at first burn books, then fashion a high-speed printing press to print myriad blank books, in timely but heavy-handed allegories for fascism and the power of books to share knowledge, empathy and imagination. It’s a sweet but superficial Fahrenheit 451.
The Cat Who Saved the Library follows a very similar structure to its predecessor, with each labyrinth solved by an extended philosophical battle of the wits, Nanami arguing for the virtues of being a reader and caring for others. Even with the castle burning down around her, it is her words that alter the perspectives of her adversaries, although she does have help from some of her favourite fictional characters continuing the battle for her. Tiger, while cute, serves largely to introduce Nanami to each of the confrontations within the castle and to encourage her. Although he is a knowledgeable cat, he steps aside for Nanami and her empathy to change the fate of the world around them. “We’re not alone in this world,” she says, and Nanami’s strong spirit leads to fate-changing friendships.
Picador, 240pp, $19.99
This article was first published in the print edition of The Saturday Paper on May 10, 2025 as "The Cat Who Saved the Library".
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