If Cats Disappeared from the World

I was attracted to If Cats Disappeared From The World by its philosophical premise, its cats and death themes (perfect October reading subjects), and the adorable kitten on the cover. I also liked that this book is translated by Eric Selland whose work I previously read in The Guest Cat - a wonderful Japanese novel. I hoped that If Cats Disappeared From The World would have the emotional heft of The Guest Cat or even A World Without Color. Unfortunately I felt it was too light and didn't explore its themes as deeply as I would have liked.

Kawamura poses ideas and situations such as the appearance of the Devil or the vanishing of various aspects of modern life, but doesn't follow though into their hows or whys or really explore the implications. Plus our narrator doesn't actually seem that distressed by his imminent demise if the story is to be taken at face value as written. I could empathise with our narrator's predicament at times, but often felt quite distanced from him too. Perhaps this story is all a surreal hallucination caused by the stress of his diagnosis? I could connect more strongly when the story focused on the narrator's mother and her first cat Lettuce. These sections felt much more emotional and I could envisage the characters in these scenes. The fantastical elements of If Cats Disappeared From The World however left me unsatisfied.

Oh my heart.

So, getting out ahead of the big question my friends will have -- it does have a cat in it, but the cat is not a main character nor a main player in the story. I mean, it is, but it also isn't. The main character has a cat, and the cat does play a role in the last third or so of the book, but this book is not about the cat, per se.

This is a short book about dying, coming to terms with your death, and being able to look at your life in retrospect. Our narrator (whose name I don't think is ever mentioned) has been given a terminal diagnosis and left to put his affairs in order. But how do you put your affairs in order when you live alone, are estranged from family, have no real close friends, and own a cat? Who do you contact about this, when you don't think anyone would care? The question is briefly taken out of our narrator's hands, however, when the literal Devil appears to give him a bargain -- one more day of life in exchange for one thing removed from the world. But like most bargains with the Devil, this one has strings.

This one tugged at my heart strings, and honestly hit a little close to home about personal fears of mine. It's a short read, but really powerful, I think, and covers a lot of heavy topics in a fairly easy-to-read fashion. It made me think a lot about what I'd be leaving behind in the same situation -- though I think I'd pass up dealing with the Devil.