Nick BRADLEY : The cat and the city

In Tokyo - one of the world's largest megacities - a stray cat is wending her way through the back alleys. And, with each detour, she brushes up against the seemingly disparate lives of the city-dwellers, connecting them in unexpected ways.
But the city is changing. As it does, it pushes her to the margins where she chances upon a series of apparent strangers - from a homeless man squatting in an abandoned hotel, to a shut-in hermit afraid to leave his house, to a convenience store worker searching for love. The cat orbits Tokyo's denizens, drawing them ever closer.

 

The stories are set in Japan and wow, with this beautiful cover, how could I resist it ? I bought the book for my library and was its first reader. I expected a lovely, feel good read and was slightly surprised. This books consists in several short stories all more or less interlinked by a calico cat and/or different characters. Some stories have a supernatural flavour, some sociological, some are studies of character(s), one is a bit spicy, there is a wide range - it even includes a short manga. 

I really enjoyed the style(s) of this brand new author - this is his first book and I'm impressed. Not being Japanese himself, Nick Bradley shows a great interest in everything Japanese, has clearly researched his subject and writes very good and interesting characters. The stories are well sketched and threads that are only partly brushed at times are completed along the pages. Honestly, if this is his first try, I can't wait for what he writes next ! Very recommended.

 

"Sometimes I feel like this whole city is one vast organism. It's like a human being that we're all part of. But we're restricted by the roads, by the waterways, by the tunnels, the trains. It's like our paths are all laid out for us, and there's no way of deviating from them. That's what makes that cat different from us. It can jump on and off trains randomly. But we humans are bound up in the fate of the city. No one can escape its clutches. I'd love to pack up and leave for the countryside, but I can't get away. I'm stuck here. Kindergarten, Elementary School, Junior High, High School, University, Internship, Internship to Job, Job to Retirement, Retirement to Death. That's my life, already laid out before me. Me, and all those other millions of people I brush up against every day. The city needs us, and we need the city. Symbiotic fuck tonnage."