GDT Book Club: The Traveling Cat Chronicles

[sal]

Just leaving a generic "discuss at will" post here, since none of us seem to have the spoons to lead a true discussion.

General thoughts?  Characters you loved?  Hated?

Did you know where this was going?  And did you like the resolution?

Opinions on books told from the animal point of view?

[peacemama]

Thanks, sal . I'm hopeful that our GDT scheduled book club discussions can resume in the near future.

I gave it a four star Goodreads rating. I'm generally not a fan of animal points of view, but this book grew on me. I predicted a bittersweet ending and it delivered. I especially enjoyed the epilogue.

[angeldaae]

Hi! I'm not a "member" of the book club, but I did just finish reading (actually, listening) to this book.

I wanted to love it, but I didn't. I actually enjoyed the cat's POV much more than the human's. I found myself wanting to hear the cat's perspective more, and not caring at all about the human's story. It became apparent where the story was headed early on, and I felt like it was just dragging toward a foregone conclusion. Then, the actual conclusion wasn't much of one at all.

I think I understood correctly that the English version was translated from the original Japanese. Maybe it was more endearing in its original language. I did love the "love story" between cat and owner, but again I enjoyed it much more from the cat's perspective.

I was glad it was only a 6-hour listen.

[angeldaae]

Oct 8, 2023 6:54:05 GMT -5 sal said:

Opinions on books told from the animal point of view?

When I compare this book to, say, "Remarkably Bright Creatures," I realize I genuinely enjoy reading an animal's point of view. It's so different and interesting.

"Travelling Cat" and "Remarkably Bright" are similar in a lot of ways, but I enjoyed "Remarkably Bright" much better, even with a similar bittersweet ending.

[bumblebuzz21]

Just finished. I really liked it. I thought it was sweet and really enjoyed learning about the main character's life throughout the book. I didn't see the end coming and cried like crazy on the plane when I was reading.