The Cat Who Saved the Library by Sosuke Natsukawa

The Cat Who Saved the Library; A Review

This book is so good! It's a sequel but works as a standalone, it's by Sosuke Natsukawa and I read the translation by Louise Heal Kawai. I think everyone should go read this book!! I'm going to write my thoughts on it, don't read this if you haven't read the book I'm going to spoil it all!

The main character is a 13 year old girl with asthma named Nanami. She loves reading and the library, and goes almost everyday. Her mother passes and her father works too much and is never home. One day she noticed someone was stealing library books; which sends her on an adventure with a talking cat. The big bad who is stealing and burning books says he's doing it to help people because reading makes you empathetic, which makes you weak. He changes forms a few times, and tactics, including making neo-books, or books purley to keep people occupied and not to help them see a new point of view. Throughout the story Nanami has to fight to keep up with the able bodied adults around her, who she sees to have more physical and mental power then she does. All while  radiating so much love; when the man who has been threatening to kill her and destroy all the books she loves is in pain she wants to help him. Even her own father starts falling victim to the anti book evilness.

In the end it's revealed that the big bad is money. Money, whos value isn't intrinsic but instead comes from comparison, giving people the incentive to want to drag others down so they themselves can rise up.  In order to "win" under capitalism you can not experience empathy. Billionaires do not feel love for their fellow human because to earn that much money you need  to rip out your own hearts. Which is why books are so important, books give you windows into other people's lives and the tools to care about people who are different then you. That's why evil governments are afraid of books, and unfortunately many people have fallen victim to these non empathetic non book lives. My final take away from this book is that you need to keep your childhood sparkle alive, the sparkle that can only be fed good stories and love.💕