'The Guest Cat' by Takashi Hiraide is a poetic and reflective tale centered around a young couple living in a guest house in Japan. Their lives are touched by the presence of a neighbor's cat named Chibi, who becomes a frequent visitor to their home. The book explores the subtle changes that take place in the lives of the couple, the landlady, and the cat, as their relationships evolve over time. Set against the backdrop of suburban Japan, the story captures the essence of everyday moments, the impact of fleeting connections, and the beauty found in simplicity and nature.
The narrative of 'The Guest Cat' unfolds in a gentle and contemplative manner, focusing on the emotional bond between humans and animals, particularly the enigmatic nature of cats. Through lyrical prose and vivid imagery, the author paints a portrait of life in a Japanese suburb during a period of societal transition. The book delves into themes of love, loss, and the profound influence that even a temporary companion like Chibi can have on the characters' lives, offering a poignant reflection on the transient nature of relationships and the appreciation of life's small joys.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings include themes of grief and loss, particularly surrounding the cat's death, which may be distressing to sensitive readers.
From The Publisher:
A wonderful sui generis novel about a visiting cat who brings joy into a couple's life in Tokyo
A bestseller in France and winner of Japan's Kiyama Shohei Literary Award, The Guest Cat, by the acclaimed poet Takashi Hiraide, is a subtly moving and exceptionally beautiful novel about the transient nature of life and idiosyncratic but deeply felt ways of living. A couple in their thirties live in a small rented cottage in a quiet part of Tokyo; they work at home, freelance copy-editing; they no longer have very much to say to one another. But one day a cat invites itself into their small kitchen. It leaves, but the next day comes again, and then again and again. Soon they are buying treats for the cat and enjoying talks about the animal and all its little ways. Life suddenly seems to have more promise for the husband and wife - the days have more light and color. The novel brims with new small joys and many moments of staggering poetic beauty, but then something happens….
As Kenzaburo Oe has remarked, Takashi Hiraide's work "really shines." His poetry, which is remarkably cross-hatched with beauty, has been acclaimed here for "its seemingly endless string of shape-shifting objects and experiences,whose splintering effect is enacted via a unique combination of speed and minutiae."
Ratings (9)
Incredible (2) | |
Loved It (2) | |
It Was OK (3) | |
Did Not Like (2) |
Reader Stats (40):
Read It (10) | |
Want To Read (24) | |
Not Interested (6) |
3 comment(s)
This book shows how interacting with an animal can create and impact relationships between people. The nameless narrator and his wife are living in a guesthouse on a larger property in Tokyo. The husband used to work as a editor at a publishing house but he eventually quits his job to work at home as an editor. He and his wife, a proofreader, enjoy a life of work and quiet companionship.
One day a cat enters their neighborhood and the next door neighbor's child attempts to claim the cat. The boy's guardian tells the boy that he can't keep the cat. Eventually a friendship is established between the couple and that lasts for years. The relationship between the cat and the wife is severed when the cat bites the wife's hand while fighting over a piece of shrimp. The wife reacts to the betrayal but removing all traces of the cat from their lives and not leaving food for the cat to eat.
Time passes and the slowly by surely, the relationship between the cat and the wife is restored and things seem to have return to normal. The couple receive news that they will have to move due to their sickly landlord and his wife moving to an assisted living home. As the couple prepares for the move, the cat continues to visit. One evening the couple decide to go to a party at an art gallery and upon their return are surprised that the cat has not visited their home. Days pass and although the wife sets out food for the cat, she doesn't return. Eventually the husband goes to the cat's owner to find out what happened and the results deeply impact both him and his wife and leaves them both with a high level of sadness and grief.
To me, the author did a good job of creating a story that was very reflective of the characters in the book in that the characters are simple and the story is simple.
4.5 stars.
A husband & Wife, in late 1980's, after leaving their corporate jobs lease a guest house in an Old Estate in Tokyo. Even though they spend time together, they communicate less. Their house is separated by a tall wooden fence with a knothole from a small narrow alley. The couple call the narrow path as "Lightening Alley" because of the patterns created by the passersby on that narrow lane.
“Chibi was a jewel of a cat.”
Soon a cat enters their life. A cat named "Chibi" is adopted by a boy in their neighborhood and often pays the couple a visit, several times a day, slowly being a part of their otherwise mundane life. The couple begins to find joy and start looking forward for Chibi's visits.
“By late autumn the yard would grow thick with fallen leaves, causing the landlady to heave many deep sighs.”
I loved the narration. A quiet and calm story about normal stuff that happen in everybody's life. Can a Cat really belong to anybody? A cat is a free creature, who enters any house in a neighborhood which it is comfortable. Japanese writers have a way of describing the things around us, a way of setting up the setting which is really really beautiful.
“All I want is to know what happened - I want to somehow grasp every detail of the events of that day, that one day like a tiny dewdrop... but now it's all engulfed in the profound darkness of time.”
The books ends with a mystery which might give you a small pause, a small doubt and maybe even ask for a re-read to understand it better.
Happy reading!!
Maybe it's the different culture but saving a cardboard box containing a towel and dried up sardines for years after the cat died seems a bit, actually a lot, weird.
The ending was a slap in the face. Just ended, mid sentence.
Why all the good reviews? I guess writers are too afraid to say something bad about another writer.
What can you read after
The Guest Cat?
About the Author:
Takashi Hiraide was born in Moji, Kitakyushu in 1950. He has published numerous books of poetry as well as several books of genre-bending essays, including one on poetics and baseball. He currently lives in the west suburbs of Tokyo with a cat and his wife, the poet Michiyo Kawano.
Eric Selland lives in Tokyo. He is the author of The Condition of Music, Inventions, and Still Lifes.
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