I, ladies and gentlemen, am a cat. I still don’t have a name. Once a stray kitten, the narrator of this story is now a noble and insightful observer of the bizarre and funny foibles of the human beings in his midst. Enter the upper middle-class world of Meiji-era Japan where a world-weary feline has ample opportunity to dissect the strange ways and convoluted conversations of human people. With acerbic wit and sardonic perspective, this is the whimsical adventure of a very special cat. 'A biting satire of Meiji-era Japan told through the eyes of a sardonic street kitten' Jessie Burton, Guardian 'A mordantly comic evocation of Soseki’s deep pessimism about his own humanity and indeed about humankind in general' Lit Hub 'A nonchalant string of anecdotes and wisecracks, told by a fellow who doesn't have a name, and has never caught a mouse, and isn't much good for anything except watching human beings in action' New Yorker TRANSLATED BY NICK BRADLEY A nonchalant string of anecdotes and wisecracks, told by a fellow who doesn't have a name, and has never caught a mouse, and isn't much good for anything except watching human beings in action ― New Yorker A biting satire of Meiji-era Japan told through the eyes of a sardonic street kitten -- Jessie Burton ― Guardian A mordantly comic evocation of Soseki’s deep pessimism about his own humanity and indeed about humankind in general ― Lit Hub Soseki is the representative modern Japanese novelist, a figure of truly national stature -- Haruki Murakami Nick Bradley is the author of THE CAT AND THE CITY (2020) and FOUR SEASONS IN JAPAN (2023). In 2024 he was chosen by The British Council and The National Centre for Writing as one of ten rising stars in UK writing. His work has so far been translated into twenty languages. He lived in Japan for many years where he worked as a translator, and currently teaches on the Creative Writing master's programme at the University of Cambridge and also taught on the Creative Writing Prose Fiction MA at UEA.