The Cat Who Saved Books (The Cat Who..., #1)

by Sōsuke Natsukawa

This world throws all kinds of obstacles at us; we are forced to endure so much that is absurd. Our best weapon for fighting all the pain and trouble in the world isn’t logic or violence. It’s humor.”

“People who truly love books don’t treat them this way.” Into his mind had slipped a memory of his grandpa, smiling contentedly as he read one of his favorites over and over until it fell apart. He’d been completely absorbed in every story. Rintaro’s grandpa had always handled the books in his store with the greatest of care, but that didn’t mean he treated them as decorations. He hadn’t been obsessed with having some sort of gorgeous exhibition—he had concentrated on creating a well-maintained space filled with the kind of books people wanted to reach out and pick up, no matter how old or well-worn they might be. That was what had made Rintaro a reader.

“. . . Books have tremendous power. But take care. It’s the book that holds the power, not you.”

“It’s not true that the more you read, the more you see of the world. No matter how much knowledge you cram into your head, unless you think with your own mind, walk with your own feet, the knowledge you acquire will never be anything more than empty and borrowed.” Rintaro would respond with a shrug, but his grandpa calmly continued: “Books can’t live your life for you. The reader who forgets to walk on his own two feet is like an old encyclopedia, his head stuffed with out-of-date information. Unless someone else opens it up, it’s nothing but a useless antique.”

“Well, I may not properly understand difficult concepts, but one thing I learned from my grandpa was that you should always handle books with care. Helping people out may not be my forte, but when I hear that books need my help then I’m ready.”

“Reading isn’t only for pleasure or entertainment. Sometimes you need to examine the same lines deeply, read the same sentences over again. Sometimes you sit there, head in hands, only progressing at a painstakingly slow pace. And the result of all this hard work and careful study is that suddenly you’re there and your field of vision expands. It’s like finding a great view at the end of a long climbing trail.”

“But you’re treating books as if they’re nothing but scraps of paper. If that’s the attitude of the people producing books, then nothing will reach the readers. The number of people who read books is already decreasing. If someone in your position has that kind of attitude, then the number of readers will just keep going down.”

But time is merciless in its passing. This was something that Rintaro understood all too well. No matter how sad, how painful, how nonsensical a thing might happen, time refused to stand still and wait for him. Somehow he had just drifted along until here he was today.

“I don’t know if this will be of any help to you,” the cat interrupted, “but I can tell you one thing. When that girl first came to the bookshop, I told you that only certain people were able to see me, and under special conditions. I wasn’t talking about supernatural powers or anything like that.” This time the cat stopped and turned to face Rintaro.

“All it takes is compassion.” “Compassion?” Rintaro said, dumbfounded. “Being able to express shallow words of sympathy in a sweet voice doesn’t make someone a caring, compassionate soul. What’s important is the ability to have empathy for another human being—to be able to feel their pain, to walk alongside them in their suffering.”

“In our stifling daily lives, we’re all so occupied with ourselves that we stop thinking about others. When a person loses their own heart, they can’t feel another’s pain. They lie, they hurt others, use weaker people as stepping-stones to get ahead—they stop feeling anything. The world has become full of those kinds of people.”

“A book that sits on a shelf is nothing but a bundle of paper. Unless it is opened, a book possessing great power or an epic story is mere scraps of paper. But a book that has been cherished and loved, filled with human thoughts, has been endowed with a soul.”

“Books have souls,” repeated the cat softly. “A cherished book will always have a soul. It will come to its reader’s aid in times of crisis.”

“I don’t know the answer. But I do know that books have helped me many times. I’m the kind of person who tends to dwell on the past, and I give up way too easily, but somehow, I’ve made it this far because books keep me going.”

“Books are filled with human thoughts and feelings. People suffering, people who are sad or happy, laughing with joy. By reading their words and their stories, by experiencing them together, we learn about the hearts and minds of other people besides ourselves. Thanks to books, it’s possible to learn not only about the people around us every day, but people living in totally different worlds.”

“Don’t hurt anyone. Never bully people weaker than yourself. Help out those in need. Some would say that these rules are obvious. But the truth is, the obvious is no longer obvious in today’s world. What’s worse is that some people even ask why. They don’t understand why they shouldn’t hurt other people. It’s not a simple thing to explain. It’s not logical. But if they read books they will understand. It’s far more important than using logic to explain something. Human beings don’t live alone, and a book is a way to show them that.”

“I think the power of books is that—that they teach us to care about others. It’s a power that gives people courage and also supports them in turn.” Rintaro broke off for a moment, biting his lip. “Because you seem to have forgotten,” he resumed with all the strength he could muster, “I’m going to say it as loud as I can. Empathy—that’s the power of books.”