Así comienza la primera y más hilarante novela de Natsume Sōseki, una auténtica obra maestra de la literatura japonesa, que narra las aventuras de un desdeñoso felino que cohabita, de modo accidental, con un grupo de grotescos personajes, miembros todos ellos de la bienpensante clase media tokiota: el dispéptico profesor Kushami y su familia, teóricos dueños de la casa donde vive el gato; el mejor amigo del profesor, el charlatán e irritante Meitei; o el joven estudioso Kangetsu, que día sí, día no, intenta arreglárselas para conquistar a la hija de los vecinos. Escrita justo antes de su aclamada novela Botchan, Soy un gato es una sátira descarnada de la burguesía Meiji. Dotada de un ingenio a prueba de bombas y de un humor sardónico, recorre las peripecias de un voluble filósofo gatuno que no se cansa de hacer los comentarios más incisivos sobre la disparatada tropa de seres humanos con la que le ha tocado convivir.

experimental serialized fiction, collected in one volume and originally published in 1905-06 Japan.

I only got as far as page 22 (the start of the second chapter of 8) -- a hungry calico tortoiseshell stray finds a reluctant home with a struggling writer/artist in Ch. 1; in chapter 2 he appears to have gained some notoreity beyond his human's comprehension.

The introduction notes that the author was still figuring out the best format/length for his serialized essays for the first few installments/chapters, so you expect some unevenness in pacing, but it was pretty boring at this point. I think I've gotten as much out of it that I care to, though other readers (cat fanciers?) might enjoy it more. ( )

22

That's enough. The cat as narrator is great. But the satire on his master, a dense professor, fails to be winning.

A satire in the indirect literary style of that day. Probably of most interest to enthusiasts of Meiji period literature.