“I heard this heavy sniffling sound.
Then a brush of whiskers.
When I opened my eyes, Tom was lounging on his side, gazing at me.
His black eyes were urging me to Get up!
He led me to the living room cupboard.
I’m hungry, so bring out some snacks! he said.
It was 3a.m.”
One of my favourite books over the last few years is ‘The Travelling Cat Chronicles’ by Hiro Arikawa. Even several years after reading it I get emotional thinking about it. I couldn’t remember sobbing over a book like that before. When I noticed this book by the same author in the bookshop, I didn’t think twice about buying the it.
‘The Goodbye Cat’ has left me with mixed emotions. I think if you read a book you love, you leave yourself open to disappointment when the next one is published. I hadn’t realised it was a book of seven short stories when I bought it (I only looked at the front cover.) The various stories it tells revolve around the relationship between humans and cats, and as the title implies, each story ends with a goodbye, whether it being death or moving on in a different manner. It’s therefore essential to make sure you have a box of tissues handy!
The stories vary in length, but all are in simple prose telling the stories from the perspective of the cat and how it sees that there is a deep connection between them and “their person” and how integral they become to family life. Anyone who has owned a pet knows the devotion that they bring to family dynamics, and how a gaping hole is left when they depart.
Cat lore is big in Japan, and cats are the most popular pet as they live by their own rules, so it makes sense that this book feels very Japanese when you read it. It is very simple, full of wit and wisdom, touching on love and loyalty in its different guises.
The Goodbye Cat. Kota, an elderly cat has decided that in order not to be separated from his family, he will do what he can to become a spirit so he will always be by his owners’ side.
Bringing Up Baby. Keisuke is a manga artist; it is all he thinks about. Before his wife leaves the house to give birth to their child, she tells her husband he needs to ‘sharpen up your domestic skills.’ When she returns, she finds the house in order and that her husband has rescued a kitten that had been thrown away with rubbish. In working out what he needs to do to help the kitten, he learns how to be a good father and his baby and the kitten grow up together to form a unique bond.
Good Father – Bad Father. A cat is devoted to a father who appears uninterested in his family, and the family cannot understand what the cat sees in the man.
Cat Island. A young boy, Ryo, is struggling with accepting his new stepmother after his mother’s death. He visits Cat Island (there is a real cat island incidentally) with his father and stepmother and meets a strange old lady. Ryo notices that visitors to the island would favour certain cats, so some would be fed whilst others disregarded. Surrounded by cats, and learning about his father’s past, he learns some valuable life lessons.
The Night Visitor. A very short story about the persistence of cats, usually at the most inappropriate of times, and how owners just put up with it, however frustrated they are. (To be honest this felt more like a few notes jotted down rather than a finished piece of work.)
Finding Hachi. A young boy, Satoru (from ‘The Travelling Cat Chronicles’) finds a stray kitten and brings it home. Following tragic events, he must give the kitten up. When he is older, he returns to visit his old cat Hachi.
Life Is Not Always Kind. We follow an older Satoru and his new cat Nana, both of whom are the protagonists in ‘The Travelling Cat Chronicles’, visit Satoru’s old professor, who he hopes will adopt Nana due to tragic circumstances.
The main problem with a collection of short stories is some are always better than others, therefore it is hard to be either completely positive or completely negative about this book. For me, some stories worked much better than others. I enjoyed The Goodbye Cat, and upon reading Finding Hachi and Life Is Not Always Kind, I realised these were two stories that related to ‘The Travelling Cat Chronicles’ and whilst these two final tales had me in tears again, those who haven’t read the former book might not be as emotionally attached to these two stories.
Finding Hachi is almost a prequel to ‘The Travelling Cat Chronicles’ and Life Is Not Always Kind’ adds details that are not covered in the original book. In some respects, it is a shame that these tales didn’t form part of the original work as the content isn’t strong enough on its own. It really only works if you’ve read the original book and know the story of Nana and Satoru.
The Goodbye Cat isn’t a book that just celebrates our feline friends, but a celebration of the circle of life. We meet kittens just setting out on their journey, and the heartbreak as they inevitably have to say goodbye to us as they age. Many of the cats’ stories start out from them being rescued, but at the heart of the story is that the cat also rescues the human whose life they have invaded.
Those who walk amongst us who proclaim to hate the cat, have obviously never had the joy of sharing the devotion of a well-loved feline. I have owned several cats in my life, all rescued, all have infuriated me in one way or another, but I’d rather have a destroyed piece of furniture and a cat, than a pristine house and no furry friend to snuggle up to.
Having read this book, I do sometimes look at my cat and wonder what thoughts are going through his head as he stares at me…generally I assume he’s wondering when I’m going to get up and feed him…again!
Whether you are a fan of cats or not, this book of short stories allows a reflection on everyday life amidst the aging process. As we grow older, we can learn a thing or two from our furry friends. I do feel that the stories in the book lack a little depth, and it feels as though the book has been hastily put together following the success of The Travelling Cat Chronicles’. That aside, it was still an enjoyable, contemplative, and tearful read.
Genre: Fiction, Short Stories, Japanese Literature, Cats, Contemporary
Release Date: 12th October 2023
Publisher: Doubleday
Pages: 245
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