Author: Genki Kawamura Title: If Cats Disappeared from the World Publisher: Picador Date Published: 08/30/2012
Read Dates: 02/01/2026- 02/03/2026
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫
This was my library book club pick for February.
If Cats Disappeared From the World is a single POV magical realism Japanese fiction. It is told by a nameless narrator, living alone with his cat Canbage, who learns he has only days left to live. As he’s reeling from this news he is approached by the devil with an opportunity: he can add one day to his life for each thing he allows to disappear from the world forever. The narrator struggles to find meaning and purpose in his life, closure as he death approaches, and to come to terms with what he’s willing to sacrifice to postpone the inevitable.
I really enjoyed this one! It was very short (just over 200 pages) and each chapter is one day. I liked how it swapped back and forth between present day and the narrator’s memories. I definitely found the concept interesting and thought-provoking and it was done really well. I’m glad to see this author has other translated works that I can check out!
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Our narrator’s days are numbered. Estranged from his family, living alone with only his cat Cabbage for company, he was unprepared for the doctor’s diagnosis that he has only months to live. But before he can set about tackling his bucket list, the Devil appears with a special offer: in exchange for making one thing in the world disappear, he can have one extra day of life. And so begins a very bizarre week . . .
Because how do you decide what makes life worth living? How do you separate out what you can do without from what you hold dear? In dealing with the Devil our narrator will take himself – and his beloved cat – to the brink. Genki Kawamura's If Cats Disappeared from the World is a story of loss and reconciliation, of one man’s journey to discover what really matters in modern life.
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