Author Sosuke Natsukawa’s first book in this series, “The Cat Who Saved Books,” created a sensation when it came out in 2021. Natsukawa recently released a sequel, “The Cat Who Saved The Library.”
Saving the Written Word
Both novels feature a mystical orange feline named Tiger. He shows up in the lives of lonely children who love books and takes them on a strange adventure. Tiger’s first appearance in “The Cat Who Saved Books” is paired with a grieving, awkward, and withdrawn young man named Rintaro, who recently lost his grandfather, who was also his guardian.
Rintaro inherited his grandfather’s used bookstore but must leave it behind to live with a distant relative. However, Tiger shows up in the shop and explains that he needs help to save several books that are in danger from a malevolent force.
From there, the two travel to a series of fantastical “labyrinths” where, in each chapter, a villain has distorted a love for books into a perverse obsession that threatens to destroy the novels.
Exploring the Library
Natsukawa’s second book introduces readers to Nanami Kosaki, a short and skinny 13-year-old living with her overworked father in Japan. Nanami’s life is somewhat restricted physically by asthma that is “a bit like a wild horse.” Any exercise or physical or mental stress might set it “galloping around her respiratory system on its iron hooves.”Being unable to participate in school sports or related activities has evolved into Nanami’s deep love of books. Practically living at her local library, she suspects that books are going missing.
The staff dismiss her concerns, but she’s convinced something is wrong. One evening, Nanami spots a suspicious man in a grey suit acting oddly around the mystery section. When she investigates, she finds that several cherished volumes of “Arsène Lupin,” one of her favorite series, have vanished.
Following the man through the stacks, a strange blue-white light starts glowing at the end of an aisle. A talking tabby cat appears and warns her to stay away, but Nanami is offended by the books gone missing and doesn’t heed the warning.
They pass through the light and come upon a surreal castle guarded by “grey men” commanded by a figure known as the General. He insists that old books are dangerous and must be erased from memory.
This time around, Natsukawa’s villain is a much more satisfyingly complex character than the antagonists of “The Cat Who Saved Books.” The General is still more of a metaphorical creature than a real person, but his ability to transform into different, more dangerous forms gives the whole book a greater cohesion.
There are many “Generals” in today’s society—those who seek to destroy “dangerous” books or devalue them to the point that they might as well be destroyed. But Natsukawa wisely creates a character that is symbolic rather than specific. You could imprint a wide variety of real-life book destroyers onto this template no matter your political or ideological affiliation.
Simple Tales With Deep Resonance
There is an informal Japanese idiom relating to martial arts and calligraphy: “The straight line is the most difficult.” A summary may make the stories seem overly childish, but that would be a great disservice to them. Though both books arguably have a very basic concept, the best of Japanese culture balances that simplicity with many facets of deeper meaning.Drawing a straight line freehand may seem like the easiest thing in the world, but most find it exceptionally challenging to do well or accurately. But when it’s done well, it’s a work of art, one that can be enjoyed by both children and adults alike.
Both of Natsukawa’s books would be wonderful to read to children. Inspiring the young to read and to think about how literature shapes our lives is one of the best gifts an adult could give a child.
