Book review, from Tokyo – Picture books on cats dominated bookstore display shelves over the weekend as Japanese honoured their feline friends because 22 February (22/2) can be vocalized as nya nya nya, a cat’s meow in Japanese.

Among the many realistic portraits and cute illustrations, Hiroko Omori’s 『わすれていいから』(Wasurete ii kara, lit. Fine, forget me) stood out. It wasn’t a title I expected for the occasion. The cover showed a boy reading a book while lying down on a window sill with a cat lazing nearby, laid back and relaxed in each other’s presence. Who was saying this? Why? I turned the page in search of answers.

The story begins with a baby cat. Unnamed. Alone. Perched on the window sill. Watching over its patch.
One day a baby boy comes home, making him its little brother. Now it watches over their patch.
They play together. Sleep together. Eat together. But little brother’s food seems to taste better.
The days pass. Little brother grows slowly, big brother grows quickly.

Soon little brother grows bigger, and big brother quickly feels smaller.
Little brother starts going to school. His friends come over to play.
When he does his homework, big brother cat warms his lap.
As he grows taller, little brother spends more and more time outside the home, and less and less time inside.

He seldom ever comes back home nowadays, big brother laments. Fine, forget me.

Firing a pointed parting shot at its human sibling, I couldn’t help but feel that the feline hoped the boy back would visit once in a while. But it recognizes that the boy has found his own patch, his own space. And with that goodbye, it is in fact wishing him well while keeping its furry belly and back open to his playful fingers.

Omori shaped the cat’s voice very much like I expected. Usually chill. Often restless. Sometimes angry. And always watching. Out for its little brother. Partnering her words, Omori’s illustrations portray the siblings together, growing gradually apart in size and space. That simple, short read engaged many different aspects of love and affection. Touch. Belonging. Space. And ultimately, letting go.

While the end was inevitable, the cat hastened it, almost pushing the boy away, albeit with a bittersweet longing. It felt like some of the farewells a parent would experience in life, while not as contorted and final, often leaving the door ajar. And much like in the book, with a myriad of sentiments purposely left unsaid.

『わすれていいから』 (Wasurete ii kara, lit. Fine, forget me) by Hiroko Omori
Publisher: KADOKAWA Corporation, 2024