Natsume Sōseki, I am a Cat

‘I am a cat. As yet I have no name’. So begins one of the best books I have ever read, a book I’m not really qualified to review at all. It is a tale of love, poetry, art, and the grinding of glass balls, but at its heart, I am a Cat is a satirical period piece made up of several short stories told from the perspective of a cat in the Meiji era of Japan. A simple premise, with excellent execution; a book rich with social commentary, satire, and irony. I am not exaggerating when I say it ranks among the greatest books of all time. It immortalises the social upheaval of the Meiji era with a cynical and witty narrator whose perspective of human nature contrasts with his own lofty opinions of himself to provide a unique view on the human condition from an outside lens.

The book explores a variety of themes, foremost among them the westernisation of Japanese society. the clash of western culture and Japanese tradition is explored through the everyday middle-class struggles of the cat’s master, the schoolteacher Sneaze, and his rogue’s gallery of friends, such as the pathological liar and chronic layabout Waverhouse, the scholarly romantic Coldmoon, and the poetic Beauchamp, as they clash with their successful businessman peers and those whom Natsume scathingly labels ‘modern men’.

Every character in the book is a sort of personified joke, each one built around a bundle of comedic flaws, and brought to life by Natsume’s superb characterisation. Consider, for example, the aforementioned Sneaze, a man who wouldn’t recognise subtext if it shaved his moustache off. A charicature of Natsume himself in his teaching days, he is a middle-class, middle-aged teacher perpetually short on money of a somewhat cantankerous and completely oblivious nature who views the social change of his time, and businessmen in particular, with mild disdain, but is hilariously nowhere near as cultured or educated as he thinks himself to be.

I am a Cat is a highly enjoyable read split into digestible chunks littered with excellent humour and social commentary. It also serves as a window to a very interesting period in Japanese history and will make you fall in love with the small, comically mundane world that Natsume creates. I really recommend it to anyone interested in literature, Japan or comedy, and would rate it at five out of five stars, placing it at the top of my favourite books list.