Soseki Natsume's I Am A Cat: The Manga Edition
The tale of a cat with no name but great wisdom!
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
Japan's beloved literary masterpiece brought to life in manga form!
Soseki Natsume's comic masterpiece, I Am a Cat, satirizes the foolishness of upper-middle-class Japanese society in early 20th century Tokyo. Written with biting wit and sardonic perspective, it follows the whimsical adventures of a rather cynical stray kitten. He finds his way into the home of an English teacher, where his running commentary on the follies and foibles of the people around him has been making readers laugh for more than a century.
This is the very first manga edition in English of this classic piece of Japanese literature. The story lends itself well to a graphic novel format, allowing readers to pick up on the more subtle cues of the expressive cat, while also being immersed in the world of his perceptive narration. It is true to classic manga form, and is read back to front.
Beautifully illustrated by Japanese artist Chiroru Kobato, this edition provides a visual, entertaining look at a unique period in Japan's history--filled with cultural and societal changes, rapid modernization and a feeling of limitless possibility--through the eyes of an unlikely narrator.
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Mangaka Chiroru makes his American debut in this adaptation of Sōseki's classic novel from Meiji-period Japan. Narrated by a nameless cat living in the home of a middle-class teacher, Kushami, the plot centers on Kushami's relationship with his rich, manipulative neighbors the Kanedas, particularly the courtship between one of Kushami's students and the Kanedas' shallow daughter Tomiko. Though shot-through with sly, absurd comedy, the set pieces are primarily vehicles for Sōseki's thesis that humanity is incapable of self-understanding. After Kushami spends an evening contemplating the madness that seems baked into "civilization," the cat remarks "by tomorrow morning, he will have forgotten everything." Unfortunately, many of Sōseki's most biting observations (and arguably best lines from the cat) are cut from Chiroru's heavily abridged rendering, which features the human characters over the feline commentary. While no substitute for the original, Chiroru's adorable cats and lively character designs make this an excellent companion volume, or introduction to those unfamiliar with Japan's satirical classic.
