Chrys Weedon | Entertainment Editor

At first glance, “The Travelling Cat Chronicles” is a sappy, sentimental novel told mostly from the perspective of a proud male cat named Nana. This may be true, but a closer look will reveal that this novel has many levels and tackles many important topics such as friendship, life and loss. The english translation of this Japanese novel was released on Oct. 23.

The narration of this heartwarming story alternates between Nana’s perspective and third person omniscient perspective of the cat’s owner, Satoru, and his various friends and family. Nana’s voice carries readers through the story about half the time.

The reader is blessed with many different cat maxims that will bring any cat-lover a good chuckle and a softer heart.

Initially a stray, Nana — named after his hooked tail that resembles seven in Japanese — gets hit by a car and finds help when he arrives at Satoru’s Tokyo apartment. They live in happy symbiosis for several years, when for an unknown and sudden reason Satoru begins searching for someone to take care of Nana when he is no longer able. The pair begins a journey around the country to visit four of Satoru’s childhood friends.

With every visit comes a different reason that the friends aren’t the right fit to take care of Nana. Most of the incidents that cause Satoru doubt about giving his cat away are usually connived by Nana himself. As the story unwinds, Nana begins to realize, with the help of other pets he encounters along the way, that Satoru is getting closer and closer to the end of his life due to an aggressive illness.

We see throughout the story that despite many hardships, Satoru remains genuine and loving. He is also truly a cat lover, which is clear from the very first chapter, but is solidified with every page and every journey he takes with his beloved Nana.

This book is truly a tear-jerker and is guaranteed to make any cat-lover bittersweetly content. Being a cat lover isn’t a requirement either; any animal lover should find this story endearing and thoughtful. It shows true, loving companionship that is unique between human and pet.

Overall review: I would highly recommend this book.

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu