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. īecause 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. 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. 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. RRP: $18.A beautifully moving tale of loss and reaching out to the ones we love. If Cats Disappeared from the World, by Genki Kawamura. It’s about the fragility of life, the bonds of family and the importance of maintaining our relationships with those we love.Īn unusual little gem that quickly grows on you. It enchants with its earnestness, quirky dialogue, likable characters and amusing, oddball digressions.Īt heart the book is about what we need and what we don’t need, what’s most important in life and what sustains us. Kawamura infuses his story with a light and playful tone. The basic plot outline of this short novel by Japanese author Genki Kawamura sounds grim and cheerless, but the tone is quite comic and whimsical (the young man calls the devil “Aloha”, due to his colourful shirts). Especially his father, who is still alive, but from whom the young man is estranged. Understandably, Cabbage carries all sorts of meaning, bringing memories of time spent with his family. Cabbage was found many years ago by his recently deceased mother. He has a pet cat called Cabbage who he is very close to.
This causes the young man to think deeply. Then comes the ultimate test: he is asked to make cats disappear from the world to live an extra day.
The choices, however, become increasingly difficult, as the devil demands things disappear that have special meaning for the young man. They disappear from the world, not such a bad thing he decides. The devil makes a bargain with the young man: he can have an additional day of life, but for each day he must make something disappear from the world. His personality matches his breezy attire. Out of nowhere the devil appears, dressed in a flamboyant Hawaiian shirt, shorts and sunglasses, as though he were on holiday. The unnamed narrator, a young man who works as a postman, discovers he has a terminal brain tumour. A young man is asked to make a bargain with the devil, putting his beloved pet cat, Cabbage, at risk.
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