Number 50 - If Cats Disappeared From the World - Genki Kawamura

Anyone who knows me will know exactly why this book practically threw itself off the shelves at me in Waterstones at the weekend.  Look at that cute lickle kitty!!!

It doesn't really show in the picture but the writing and the circles round its eyes are reflective so they glint in the light.  I think it's almost as purpose built as a cover could be to catch my eye.

Anyway, I'd never heard of Genki Kawamura before but the storyline seemed interesting and it's really quite short - two points in its favour.

The story concerns our narrator, a young unnamed postman in an unnamed town in Japan.  He's told he has an inoperable brain tumour and only weeks to live at the very most. He gets home from the hospital to find the devil waiting for him with an offer.  He can have an extra day of life if he agrees to let something else disappear from the world.

So begins a week of Faustian bargains with different things being taken each day in payment for his next.  As it says on the back cover though, he never thought the bargains might affect his cat - Cabbage.

Whereas Gilead tried to be deep and meaningful but forgot to put a story in to weave the philosophical musings around, this manages the deep and meaningful without letting go of the storyline, and manages to keep the tone of the story breezy and fresh regardless of how potentially depressing it could be. 

It's a very funny book, as well as being a deeply moving and enjoyable meditation of what it is that actually makes our lives worth living. I was genuinely wiping away a tear or two by the end of the book.  Although the prose isn't as accomplished as Gilead (possibly due to the translation), it's a much easier and lighter read without the sense of self importance that pervaded Marilynne Robinson's alleged masterpiece.

Thematically it covers a lot of the same subjects - parent/child relationships are front and centre in this story.  As well as feline/human servant relationships.  It's even written in the form of an extended letter, just like Gilead was. The story bounces through the narrator's memories, building a powerful and real picture of his life.

Even the supporting characters are well drawn.  If I was to make any negative criticism of this book, it's that the things he removes are guaranteed to impact harder on his close friends and family members, but this is an issue that's never really touched on.

I will definitely be reading more by this author, and looking for a copy of the film I just found out exists.

an easy 8.5/10