I am nearly finished with this Soseki book, and I though I might write a review of it.
First of all, one ought to recognize that the book was written over a hundred years ago in 1905-6 in Japan. It was originally published (much like some of Charles Dickens' work) in installments in a magazine. Soseki is still to this day widely read by youth in Japanese schools and I would consider him to be one of many important influences in the formation of the modern Japanese Zeitgeist. That's the real reason I, personally, picked up this book. I wanted some insight into the frames of reference, history, and culture of Japan. I have not been disappointed. Soseki is exceedingly generous in discussing and joking about all the various ways in which Western academic ideas and cultural notions are having their confluence - flowing into - Japanese culture during the Meiji Restoration period. Soseki was obviously an incredibly well-read and astute scholar, when it comes to both Oriental and Occidental academic thought, philosophy, and history. In this book, there are numerous references to the names and works of various famous scholars throughout history, and it is well worth the curious reader's while to do a quick Google or Wikipedia search on these names, because it will flesh out the picture of what Soseki is trying to philosophize about.
From a plot/story perspective, I think many English readers will be surprised with how differently Soseki (and many other contemporary and historical Japanese authors) construct their novels. Some weeks ago, I read another and much shorter book by Soseki - "Botchan" - and in both books, he seems to use the plot device of a form of relentless negativity in order to allow him to show the reader clearly and without bias what he thinks about a range of issues, or about a personality archetype (in the case of Botchan). This is a very unusual plot device which I have never encountered in a novel written by a Westerner. The main character in "I am a Cat" is, not suprisingly, a cat. This cat is used as a first person tool to give the reader something of a "fly on the wall" perspective into the friendships and drama that take place at the turn of that century in his master's (a school teacher's) household. Perhaps housecats were generally not treated as well in 1906 as they are today in modern countries. Because of constant ill-treatment, the cat is resentful and scathingly critical of all things human.
On another level, however, I can see that if I were to climb into the mindset of mainstream 1906 Japanese society, I might find the whole book to be nothing but a barrelful of laughs. This is because nearly every sentence in the book seems to consist of some sarcastic remark about the society of the day. Soseki is a true master of the art of humor in this way. Sarcasm, of course, often doesn't translate well to people with sensibilities which have been molded by growing up in another time or place. Prepare for your mind to be stretched!
From a readability perspective, the buyer of this book ought to be forewarned that it was translated after WWII by the British academic Graeme Wilson. Therefore, the book is written in British English rather than American English. I have found that two or three times on each page I have needed to look up an obscure British word (many of them informal or slang) in an online dictionary. Sometimes the peculiar spellings in the book cannot be found in current dictionary editions.
I also have noted with Soseki and other Japanese authors that they seem to allow themselves a certain amount of slop and a few inconsistencies when it comes to the plot if it is particularly important for them to be able to give whatever unique gift they want to give to the reader in a certain paragraph of text. Japanese bookworms seem to forgive this sort of thing much more than Western readers might.
Finally, I'll just note that Soseki is fastidious in realistically depicting the behavior of cats. This is something I suppose doesn't change from nation to nation, or century to century. It is really beautiful and quaint how he dreams up some kind of internal dialog in the cat's mind to justify playful and recognizable behavior just at the moment when the cat supposedly has his mind occupied with all sorts of anthropological notions about humanity.
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From the Publisher
About the Original: Soseki's "I Am a Cat"
I Am a Cat was first written in 1905-1906 by Sōseki and published in ten installments in the literary journal Hototogisu. A satirical novel about Japanese society during the Mejii period (1868-1912), the story follows a world-weary stray cat as he observes the foolishness of upper-middle-class Japanese society with wit and sardonic perspective.
While Sōseki originally intended the first chapter to stand on its own as the only short story, with pressure and encouragement he continued to release individual chapters in ten installments, eventually collected together to constitute 3 volumes of I Am a Cat. The translated edition available here includes all three volumes!
A classic of Japanese literature, I Am a Cat is one of Sōseki's best-known novels. Considered by many as the most significant writer in modern Japanese history, Sōseki's I Am a Cat is often still an assignment for Japanese schoolchildren, and is very much so still a relevant and hilarious observation of society.
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Reviews with images
Overall: loved it 9/10 Memorable story and is considered a classic in Japanese literature.
The book arrived in pristine condition. The viewpoint of a cat is really interesting and I will never look at a cat the same way after reading this. The letters are kind of small so somebody with bad eyesight could have a hard time reading it. In comparison to a textbook: see photos
Top reviews from other countries
Peter S
A riveting and inspiring read - a genuine masterpiece.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 12, 2023