![]() ![]() As lover of Japanese culture I found The Guest Cat a subtle and sublime meditation on the Zen esthetic of wabe sabe. The 30-something husband, an editor, initially is no fan of the feline house guest but his transformation to devoted cat man is a revelation. ![]() The book is narrated by the husband of a couple (which remain nameless) who gradually over several years become attached to Chibi, the tiny, standoffish neighbor’s cat, who visits them daily. The slim, novella length novel will transport the reader to a poetic world of ’80s Japan centered on a couple who rent the guest house of a 1920’s manor home with exotic gardens. The book was translated into English by Eric Selland and published By New Directions in January 2014. The French edition, Le Chat qui venait du ciel (roughly translated as “the cat who came from heaven”) for its evocative references to fate. In 2001, The Guest Cat, originally published in Japan as Neko No Kyaku by acclaimed poet Takashi Hiraide went on to become a bestseller in Japan and France. It’s not often a book enjoys a second success years after being published. ![]()
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