The Goodbye Cat by Hiro Arikawa (Review by Stacey Lorenson)

Rating:  3.7/5

After reading novels about sadistic cults, sociopaths, and historical fiction this year, The Goodbye Cat was the literary break I needed. Hiro Arikawa’s novelette was a sweet, light read containing seven short stories about cats and their owners. This is Arikawas sophomore novel following her best-selling novel, The Traveling Cat Chronicles.  Her stories contain sharp observations from a feline perspective highlighting their contributions to the lives of their caretakers. The highly intelligent and intuitive cats endow their owners with empathy and unconditional love while entrenching themselves in the complexities of human life.  Both humans and cats alike offer each other comfort and acceptance throughout their lives.

I enjoyed reading the slice of Japanese culture that each story provided.  The cat and human characters were multifaceted and endearing as they evolved through the varying phases of their lives. Each story contains a bit about human nature, whether it was something to be improved upon or appreciated, while the cats assisted the process. The Goodbye Cat is the perfect heartfelt book to decompress and enjoy life from a cat’s point of view!