The Pear Book

The Travelling Cat Chronicles, Hiro Arikawa

“As we count up the memories from one journey, we head off on another. Remembering those who went ahead. Remembering those who will follow after. And someday, we will meet all those people again, out beyond the horizon.” – The Travelling Cat Chronicles, Hiro Arikawa

Japanese translated novels with ‘cat’ in their title/cover often fall into a box of ‘cosy literature.’ At first glance, this is good. By being pushed into this sub-genre, these novels have attracted large numbers of attention from readers across the globe. However, this box has also restricted titles such as The Travelling Cat Chronicles, The Cat Who Saved The Books, and many more, as they often become perceived as nothing more than cute and gimmicky. 

So when I  read The Travelling Cat Chronicles, which surprisingly took me a while to get around to, I was so pleased that Hiro Arikawa had written something that completely transcends those perceptions. Not that I had any doubt having read Arikawa’s wonderful 2023 novel The Goodbye Cat. 

The premise is simple but fascinating. Satoru and his beloved cat Nana travel all across Japan, from the foreboding coast to the iconic Mt.Fuji, on a mission to find Nana a new home. Satoru visits old friends from all over the country to find the best possible home for Nana. With each visit we learn about Satoru’s relationship with the current friend he’s meeting. Arikawa takes us on a trip down memory lane as we learn of the hardships Satoru faced growing up and how his pure soul and unrelenting kindness lead to him becoming a light in his friends lives. 

When asked why he must give Nana away, Satoru dodges the questions. But we know it must be something big for this cat-loving man to say goodbye to his precious pet. Speaking of which, Nana is not only Satoru’s cat, but a well-developed character in his own right. 

With many passages written from his perspective, Nana is a perfectly agreeable and whimsically sarcastic depiction of a cat. He was taken in by Satoru as a stray, and we learn early on that Nana resembles a childhood cat of his, Hachi. We learn more about Hachi and his importance in Satoru’s life in his discussions with his childhood friend Kosuke. I’ll leave you, the reader, to dive into that beautifully heart-aching story. 

Whilst, in a way, the story-telling is repetitive, that’s not a drawback to this novel. The structure repeats itself, Satoru and Nana visit a friend, we learn about a story between them from the past, and for whatever reason it’s decided that Nana can’t stay there. This happens three times, with a small chapter ‘3.5’ that follows the owner-pet-pair as they drive by Mt.Fuji. The writing here shows how Arikawa is able to capture the essence of the human heart in its finest form. With this said, the repetitive structure actually acts as a strong base for Arikawa to thrive in writing awe-inspiring small tales from the past, rich in character and emotion. You’re never bored. 

The ending is worthy of a whole novel itself. Arikawa handles it with class, gentleness, and beauty. Every sentence pulls at your heartstrings and each page paints vivid images. 

One of the strongest skills of Hiro Arikawa is her ability to write moments that are surrounded by sorrow and heartache, and yet somehow, still leaving the reader with a feeling of lingering hope and quiet warmth. 

With The Passengers on the Hankyu Line only a couple months away, reading this novel has raised my anticipation higher than I thought it could go. Stay tuned for my review on that one!