The Travelling Cat Chronicles

If it were about the cat, it would be, as other reviewers commented, a pleasant, albeit sometimes slow-paced, story.It's not even about the main character, Saturo, who is less than three-dimensional (his characteristics are generosity and joy at life, with no realistic negatives) and who seems to get lost into his friends. [For each, in different stages in his life, he switched interests (swimming, farming) or gave up a woman for the sake of his friend.] Other than these friends and his aunt, we learn little about him.But it is about unconditional love.Unconditional love exists between Saturo and his cat, Nana. The story only makes sense as adult fare when you recognize the two of them as both ends of a metaphor.Saturo has offered unconditional love to his friends. When he travels to visit them hoping to find a home for his cat, he finds they are limited, and would not be able to provide a good home for Nana. Yet, each has an animal who might lead them to unconditional love.In the fourth chapter (titled "3½: Between Friends"), Saturo and Nana share the 22 experiences (listed on page 245) that express Nana's happiness. "...you don't find such incredible love very often. That’s why I’m so happy."The second to the last chapter (titled: "4: How Noriko Learns To Love") is not talking about any love. Noriko goes from acting out of guilt and duty, to unconditional love.So why bother with the cat?Otherwise, Saturo would be totally disappointing as the main character. We wouldn't believe he had no faults, no insecurities, no fears. But his "perfection" is believable when we're seeing him through the eyes of a cat who loves him. That doesn't mean his perfection doesn't exist. It is the aspect of him that can love unconditionally, the aspect that Nana loves in return.Consider how terribly people grieve for a pet who has died. Many say it is because the pet loved the owner unconditionally. I suspect it's actually because the owner is allowed to love the pet unconditionally. That love and that loss is what this book is about.

This book is a mildly charming fable about the power of friendship. It's not much more than that, however.I was hoping I would connect with this book more, being a fan of both cats and Japanese fiction. But this one fell flat for me. The story follows Satoru and his faithful cat Nana, as they travel around Japan trying to find Nana a new home. Satoru can no longer keep him for reasons that aren't stated (but that you can easily guess). However, as a former stray who converted to being a kept cat for Satoru and Satoru only, Nana is determined to stick by his owner and makes sure he ruins any chance of being left elsewhere. On their travels, they stop to visit with the people who shaped Satoru as he grew up and at each stop Nana learns about a new part of his beloved owner's life. Then their travels come to an end, and Nana shows what true friends are willing to sacrifice to be with one another.While this was a very touching story, it was just an average read for me. I give the author no credit for making me cry at the end; it's just too easy. I didn't enjoy Nana's voice as narrator. There were problems with the translation, using the word tabby instead of calico, stroke instead of pet, chinchilla instead of Persian, ect. I wonder if the prose would have felt less clunky, and the story more enjoyable, if the translation had been better.

First, NOT for kids! I had high hopes for the book, but have been sorely disappointed. It's the story of lonely Japanese men, with a little "cat" thrown in. The "cat" narrative is the best part of the book, but it's meager and and lacking. The rest is all sad, depressing story of deaths, divorces and abusive parents. It's a translation, but still the writing is not very good and the could have used some serious editing.

This book tells story of the main protagonist, stray cat - Nana and his owner Satoru. It shows their first meeting, shortly their 5 years long living collaboration but the main part are their three journeys around Japan and visits of Satoru’s old friends. During these visits we are puzzle building and learning more about Satoru’s hard childhood but full of diverse memories which for sure will cause many feelings in reader. In the end the story has great climax full of emotions that might cause fall of few tears from your eye.The book is divided into sections of third-person dialogues and Nana’s narrations and observations. We can find there few little colourful descriptions of Japanese nature.At the first it might look like a simple story but its full of smaller and in the end greater emotions if you are willing to feel them. Its beautiful story of loyalty, love and happiness that can four-legged friend provide and petite joys that live gives. It also shows how rough life can be and that nothing lasts for ever.

It will also make you think. I bought this for my wife but I ended up reading it first. This is the story of a man and his cat as they travel thru Japan looking for a new owner for his cat. While the cat is a major character this is not a funny cat story so if that is what you desire do not buy this book, but if you want a thoughtful read this book is for you. I found the book an easy short read and finished it in only a few hours. I read kindle version and had no problems with it. I highly recommend this book.Plot spoilers may follow It ends up being a review of the man's life as he visits friends along then way and it also develops that the owner is dying of cancer. He discovers many things about himself and ends up with his aunt, a judge, who raised him after his parents died. Various points of view are brought out in the story both from the owner, the cat and the people he meets along the way. This is a touching, thoughtful, interesting, moving story.

I'm a cantankerous, old, opinionated, hard hearted b****** who happens to have recently been adopted by a stay cat. Since then I've been slowly getting into all things feline. Reading this book was like reading the story of my last 2 years with Jesse.It's a simple but human story, simply told. But none the worse for that. As is this book : )You can easily figure out the reason behind the story quite early on despite the attempts at deflection by the author, but this only made me want to read more.The cat narration is very believable, and the human bits are poignant.I devoured this in just 4 days.For some reason the latter pages of my copy now appear to be stained by some sort of liquid.(But I won't be asking for a refund)Read it and weep.

This is the story of Nana, a stray cat who gets adopted by Saturo. As a cat lover I can tell you the bits of the book “written” by Nana are authentic cat. The story is told alternately from Saturo ‘s point of view and the cat’s.It is a lovely read and heart-warming - a word I hate using but is the only apt one.In their travels together they cover large distances . The landscapes are beautifully described and I learned a lot about Japan.My only caveat is that the language is sometimes awkward - this may be due to translation.

Such a well- written and constructed book that I almost read it non-stop. The closing chapter had me in tears. I'm a bloke: we don't do that sort of thing! I won't detail the personal circumstances at the time which brought it about as that might spoil it for other readers. However, if you have any feelings in you at all, read this book!

What an astounding book - such sensitive insight into the beguiling world of cats and their curious attachment to humans. I couldn't put it down, highly recommended for cat lovers and those looking for hope in the future of mankind.

The cat called Nana in this story is a clever but cautious feline. He also has a delightfully wicked sense of humour while his owner Satoru Miyawaki is a really lovely man with the kindest heart. Satoru and Nana’s sweet and thoughtful personalities and their attitudes to life and living is truly inspiring. Their words and actions prove how important it is to be resilient and positive even when you’re faced with the worst setbacks in life.You meet some of Satoru’s friends as he travels on a road trip with his beloved cat and you quickly discover these buddies all have flaws in their characters or they had to face extreme hardships when they were growing up, but Satoru is always so considerate and understanding when he catches up with them. This reminded me to be mindful of the fact other people may be having a tough time when I meet them, even when it’s not obvious, so it’s important to try and be as kind as possible when I run into people I know.As I read this story, I developed a strong connection with Satoru and Nana and even Satoru’s aunt Noriko so the last few pages in this book left me feeling like I had a huge lump in my throat and I was choking back tears at the very end. The writing style in this book is informal, relaxed and full of warmth, the dialogue is chatty and a joy to read, and the plot is absolutely charming but ultimately a real tear-jerker. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and the characters really did stir up my emotions so I’m sure I’ll remember Satoru and Nana's adventures for a long time to come.