This was a no brainer pick: books and cats are two things I love, so a story that combines those elements with a touch of magical realism is absolute This was a no brainer pick: books and cats are two things I love, so a story that combines those elements with a touch of magical realism is absolute catnip (ha!) for me. And frankly, life has not really been giving me much of a break lately, so I was definitely on the lookout for gentle escapist reads.
When his grandfather dies, Rintaro inherits his used bookstore, which feels to him like a burden: he is still in high school, and while he loves the place so much, this seems like too much to take on. But then Tiger shows up. Tiger is a talking ginger tabby who enlists Rintaro to help on his mission to… save books? Sure enough, Rintaro follows the little cat in a corner of the store he had never noticed before, and off they are on a strange and wonderous adventure.
I lost count of how many times I must have mentioned in one of my reviews that books are such a crucial part of my life, that they are one of the things that keep me sane and strong, and that I almost consider them to be living things that hang out on my shelves and keep me company. So obviously, a book like that is aimed at the kind of book maniac that I am, and I knew from the get-go that there was no way I wouldn’t enjoy my time with “The Cat Who Saved Books”.
Sentimental? Idealistic? Sure. But it was a much-needed light and hopeful read during a really anxious time, a great reminder that books are a refuge, but that we need to step out of them every once in a while.
If you need a shot of quiet loveliness, this is it! ...more
Some books you can summarize easily and neatly. Other books, like this one, are impossible to reduce to a few sentences that can give someone an idea Some books you can summarize easily and neatly. Other books, like this one, are impossible to reduce to a few sentences that can give someone an idea of what they will find within its pages. At its core, the story told by “The Book of Form and Emptiness” is about a mother and her son, grieving the loss of a husband and father, and struggling with the demands of a world that is not built to accommodate people going through a hard time. It’s about mental illness, art, Zen, books, consumerism, the inner life on inanimate objects, what it really means to have your shit together, falling in love for the first time, accepting help... It’s beautifully written, with a tremendous amount of sensitivity and compassion, and it made me feel an awful lots of feels.
Kenji and Annabelle were an oddly matched, but deeply in love couple; they had a son named Benny and were fairly happy and satisfied with their lives and their small but cozy duplex. Until Kenji died in a rather silly accident, right behind their home. Their world begins to fray, as Benny starts to hear voices coming from various objects and Annabelle spirals into depression. When therapy is unable to help Benji, he retreats onto himself and befriends a strange girl who will shift his outlook on many things.
One of the things that struck me the hardest with this book is how terribly real all the characters felt. I found myself squirming with recognition at many points as I read about the way they are mired in their emotions, at their reactions, mistakes in attempting to communicate. The world is such a weird place when one stops to think about it, and it has very little room to accommodate people who don’t fit neatly anywhere. People who are too earnest, too gentle and too candid easily get bruised – if not crushed – by the way the world works (mostly because those qualities are viewed as weakness by those who would take advantage of them), and Annabelle and Benny learn it the hard way.
Of course, Ozerki’s final conclusion, that books can not only help but also heal, is something very close to my heart, so my rating might be a tiny bit of confirmation bias, but sue me, books have kept me alive so many times that I celebrate those who understand that truth so profoundly. The Zen Buddhist aspect also resonated strongly from me: my practice and I have not been on great terms for a while, and this made me miss it enough to reconnect with it and I am very grateful for that.
The narrative structure is very unusual, the pacing is rather slow and there is not such much a plot as there is an exploration of a moment in the life of a handful of characters, but I found this book to be a lovely surprise that took its time in revealing itself. Very recommended....more
Zen Cho is quickly becoming an important author on my speculative-fiction radar, with her lovely whimsical style and her stories that are much deeper Zen Cho is quickly becoming an important author on my speculative-fiction radar, with her lovely whimsical style and her stories that are much deeper than they appear at first sight. I had seen her name on my Goodreads feed for a while, and I took the plunge earlier this year with “Black Water Sister” and now I am hooked!
This collection of short stories and novellas touch on similar themes as the ones explored with “Black Water Sister”: immigration, cultural clash, transformation, self-discovery, family (what it actually means and how generations can’t understand each other), and sexual awakening. Those are all very contemporary topics, but I love that Cho chose to explore them through the lens of folklores and legends from South East Asia – with a few Celtic faeries sprinkled on top for good measure! She also effortlessly draws up characters who are beautifully diverse – it never feels like box-checking, it just is.
Vampires, gods, dragons, ghosts, automata, aliens, sentient plants : I learned a lot about mythology reading this book, but I also got a wonderful glimpse of the inner lives of such creatures, their loves, motivations, desires and fears. I think that Cho’s gift truly lies in opening her readers’ heart with her little fables, and while there are a few weaker stories in this book, none of them are bad, and they are all thought-provoking.
A very charming collection, recommended to fans of Asian mythology and soft sci-fi....more
When it was announced in 2020 that Carlos Ruiz Zafon had passed away, I was devastated. “The Shadow of the Wind” (https://www.goodreads.com/review/shoWhen it was announced in 2020 that Carlos Ruiz Zafon had passed away, I was devastated. “The Shadow of the Wind” (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) is one of my all time favorite books, and the entire “Cemetery of Forgotten Books” series is a treasure to me. I was both surprised and incredibly excited when I found out that Mr. Zafon had prepared a little collection of short stories and given instructions that it should be published posthumously. This made me smile, albeit sadly. This is just his style, a little final present for his readers, a little comfort in their grief.
It was a little bittersweet to pick up, honestly, but the sweet took over quickly. The pleasure of reconnecting with beloved characters, even in small doses, to walk the misty and dirty street of his Barcelona one more time was such a lovely thrill.
The eleven stories in this collection are best enjoyed if one has read Zafon’s other work, as they often reference plot points and characters from their pages, but they might be an intriguing place to start for newbies. Like most short story collections, a couple were less successful, but generally, I was enthralled and simply hungry for more pages. The darkness, the hints of supernatural, the beautiful and dangerous women that populate Zafon’s novels are here, and give us glimpses into the origin of the famous Cemetery, a never published work by Cervantes and his connection to the Sempere family, but also to a mysterious foreign publisher…
The final story his clearly Zafon’s final bow, his goodbye over two short pages. I will miss the excitement of looking forward to his latest books, but I will cherish his work for ever....more
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