Book Review: If Cats Disappeared From The World by Genki Kawamura

Picador, September 2018

This young man’s days are numbered. Estranged from his family, living alone with only his cat Cabbage for company, he is unprepared for the doctor’s diagnosis that he has only months to live.

But before he can set about tackling his bucket list, the Devil appears with a special offer: in exchange for making one thing in the world disappear, he can have one extra day of life. And so begins a very bizarre week . . .
Because how do you decide what makes life worth living? How do you separate out what you can do without from what you hold dear? In dealing with the Devil our narrator will take himself – and his beloved cat – to the brink.

If Cats Disappeared From The World has been translated from the original Japanese novel. The narrator of this book finds out that he hasn’t got long to live. In shock, in returns to his empty flat with only his cat for company.

Soon, he gets a visit from the Devil who claims he can offer a deal; one day extra of life in exchange for one thing disappearing from the world.

He considers the offer but then the stakes rise and he’s not sure it is such a good idea. Nothing else as I don’t want to spoil it.

He begins to look at his life and reevaluate. He begins to question how far he is willing to go.

The themes of this book reminded me a little of ‘All My Friends Are Superheroes,’ and like that book, I adored this one.

I am a cat lover and this was the main thing that drew me to this novel. The cat on the cover is incredibly cute! It reminded me of my cat.

The narrator has very relatable fears and regrets and I found myself having empathy with him a lot. There are some incredibly bittersweet moments. The subject matter is not necessarily an easy one but there are some lovely sections that will make you think but also make you smile.

My love of cats and what the narrator faces really did have me in a hysterical crying mess. This story is beautifully written. Being a novella, it’s a good, quick read – made quicker by the fact that I didn’t want to stop reading.

If Cats Disappeared from the World is a wonderful, sweet tale of making things right before it’s too late. I really recommend it.

(If Cats Disappeared From The World was released by Picador on 20th September 2018 and was translated by Eric Selland. Click to view on Amazon UK.) 

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Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.