Jika Kucing Lenyap dari Dunia, a Book Review | Off The Shelf
Unpad Cat Feeding Communications Lead and co-founder Fira (Unpad’17) shares the stories from her current read; spoiler free.
Over the New Year holidays I read Genki Kawamura’s Jika Kucing Lenyap dari Dunia (If Cats Disappeared from the World (世界から猫が消えたなら)). If you haven’t read it already, you really should. This is indeed not a motivational book, it doesn’t promise to make you rich or happy. It’s about life and the cuteness of this book sneaks through like a kitty🐈.
This novel has sold over 1 million copies in Japan, and has been made into a film. Back in 2020 I spotted the book in a branch of a local bookstore when I was visiting family, and as a cat lover I naturally attracted by the title, and the cover design. I am yet to watch the movies, anyway.
“What would you sacrifice for an extra day of life?”
The unnamed protagonist has an deteriorating brain tumour and has only months to live. When he returns to his apartment, he is visited by the ‘Devil’ — not that scary thing — informed that he will die the next day, and offered an interesting deal. Every day, he can agree to get rid of one thing from the world and, in exchange, he will get an extra 24 hours to live.
This young man only has few personal connections, and estranged from his father following the death of his mother several years earlier. His closest companion is his catto, quite solitary isn’t it? And as the week goes on, he finds it harder and harder to erase objects he from the world. Especially when it came down to choosing between himself and something he loves.
He can only think about allowing the objects to continue to exist, or about extending his life. Of course, he would chose to live longer in exchange for the ability to make things disappear. Nonetheless, each time he made a decision, he reflected on the significance of each item. He soon realizes that the implications of his deals with the ‘devil’ are far-reaching than he could have imagined. He then begins to realise that everything has its place in the world.
“To gain something, you must lose something.”
Genki Kawamura is able put the right amount of quirk and, because of the subject matter, deals with dark themes. And it hits on a relatable topic: if you knew you were going to die, what would you do in exchange for a longer life?
Kawamura wrote a thought-provoking storyline. If you’re a fan of explosive story, this is not for you. With slow tempo and aspects like humanity and existence, its first-person-writing dives into the past and raises as many questions as it tries to answer. Such an interesting concept realised beautifully by Kawamura. A delicate way of thinking about life and the value we give to our own world.
This is an emotional narrative and I came way from it with a lot of thoughts about my own life. Kawamura’s beautiful explanation of how love can be lost was truly gorgeous, it described exactly how many of us have felt; lost and slightly confused as a result of things beyond our control. I could say…This novel is both light and heavy.
It’s not supposed to be a serious novel, but it does take a wonderful detour in the latter chapters and the book ties up really well!
What about you? If you could have one thing disappear from the world right now, what would it be? To me, it would be COVID, absolutely. But I would not make deals with the devils though.
Enjoy your day, fellow reader! The Cat Corner will write to you again soon!
Sparks👍:
• Touching story;
• Thought-provoking;
• Wonderful detours in latter chapters.
Slacks👎:
• Tediously written.
Rating : ★★★★
Genre : Fiction, Fantasy
Publisher : Penerbit BACA
Year : 2020 (Edition 1)
ISBN: 978–602–6486–43–1
Pages : 255
Cover : Soft
Buying Tips : This book is popular in Indonesia, and easier to found online. Please avoid pirated books.
Artikel ini adalah artikel perkenalan rubrik Off The Shelf, rubrik yang berfokus untuk membahas ulasan buku, film atau media lain yang bertemakan hewan, khususnya hewan stray seperti kucing dan anjing. Kamu juga bisa mengirim artikel untuk rubrik ini loh! hubungi kami di linktree.com/unpadcatfeeding
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Written by Fira; Edited by Felisia
© 2022 The Cat Corner and Unpad Street Cat Feeding. Others can distribute, remix, and build upon this work as long as credit provided. Others can use this work for non-commercial purposes only.
