From infatuation to obsession
Like many contemporary Japanese novels If Cats Disappeared from the World packs a huge punch for such a slim novel. Also like many Japanese novels, there are cats.
Like Christopher Marlowe's Faustus or Aladdin in The Arabian Nights, the book is based on a simple question of morality; what would you give up for an extra day of your life? In this case a Hawaiian shirt wearing incarnation of the Devil poses this question to a terminally ill man.
Before we get to living without cats Kawamura considers life without watches and mobile phones each time revealing more about what it means to be alive. This is simple stuff eloquently presented by a great storyteller.
Whilst not a joyful premise If Cat's Disappeared From the World is remarkably positive and life affirming. If it doesn't lead to you rethinking your priorities in life nothing will!
With more than a million copies sold at home in Japan a film adaptation from released in 2016. 4
If Cats Dissapeared from the World by Genki Kawamura published Picador 144 pages
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| 2016 Film Adaptation |
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