The Cat Who Saved Books

Grandpa used to say it all the time: books have tremendous power. But what is that power really?

Natsuki Books was a tiny second-hand bookshop on the edge of town. Inside, towering shelves reached the ceiling, every one crammed full of wonderful books. Rintaro Natsuki loved this space that his grandfather had created. He spent many happy hours there, reading whatever he liked. It was the perfect refuge for a boy who tended to be something of a recluse.

After the death of his grandfather, Rintaro is devastated and alone. It seems he will have to close the shop. Then, a talking tabby cat called Tiger appears and asks Rintaro for help. The cat needs a book lover to join him on a mission. This odd couple will go on three magical adventures to save books from people who have imprisoned, mistreated and betrayed them. Finally, there is one last rescue that Rintaro must attempt alone . . .

The Cat Who Saved Books is a heart-warming story about finding courage, caring for others – and the tremendous power of books. Sosuke Natsukawa's international bestseller, translated from Japanese by Louise Heal Kawai, is a story for those for whom books are so much more than words on paper.

Louise Heal Kawai has been a Japanese-English literary translator since 2006. Her first publication was Shoko Tendo’s bestselling autobiography Yakuza Moon. She has gone on to translate a large number of crime fiction titles, including Seishi
Yokomizo’s The Honjin Murders, and works by Soji Shimada and Seicho Matsumoto. Her literary translations include Ms Ice Sandwich by Mieko Kawakami, and Hideo Yokoyama’s Seventeen, which was a finalist in the 2018 Believer Book Awards, and longlisted for the 2019 Best Translated Book Award. Louise comes from Manchester in the UK, and currently resides in Yokohama.