I Am A Cat [Soseki Natsume]

Goodreads link.

Source: Brooklyn Public Library ebook

Start Date: 10 February 2019

Finish Date: 25 February 2019

Notes:

This was an early twentieth century Japanese comic novel. The first couple of chapters are actually a little philosophical and funny at the same time; but the later chapters begin to drag, especially as you begin to see that the humans around the cat are unsympathetic losers and wastrels. Since it’s a comic novel, this is probably intentional; but it gets a little too mean spirited to enjoy. Additionally, when the cat’s owner or somebody else spouts off with uncle-type sexism; you don’t really know if the sexism is satirical, or if the early twentieth century author is inserting his voice – an interesting example of Poe’s Law in action before the internet.