I am a cat (Famous Translation and Illustrations Edition)

Author: Natsume Sōseki (Japan)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-12-02
Features: I Am a Cat is Natsume Sōseki's masterpiece. The protagonist of the novel is a cat, and the story is narrated in the first person ("I"). The narrative lacks a complete plotline, yet serious themes are vividly revealed through the cat's seemingly casual observations, experiences, and reflections. The cat's owner, Kakehashi, is a middle school teacher who enjoys solitude and often studies at home. He has diverse interests but achieves little. The owner frequently meets with his friends—the aesthete Meitien, the physicist Hangetsu, the artist Tohō, and the philosopher Dokugen—to discuss the past and present, compose poetry, and pass the time. One day, the wife of the capitalist Kanda visits Kakehashi to ask for his help in arranging her daughter's marriage. Kakehashi finds it absurd to think that Hangetsu would fall in love with Kanda's daughter and mocks her along with Meitien. From then on, the household faces numerous troubles. First, the coachman's wife spreads rumors, provokes disturbances, and insults the owner. Next, Kakehashi's old classmate, Suzuki, visits to advise him to avoid trouble. Then, middle school students are incited to create noise outside the house, causing Kakehashi great frustration.
The cat visits the Kanda household and overhears Kanda and his wife plotting to torment the owner. The owner continues to meet with Meitien, Hangetsu, and their friends, engaging in lively debates, laughter, and criticism of society, condemning the vices of capitalists and the contemptible behavior of detective lackeys. Kakehashi has a student, Sanpei, who plans to marry Kanda's daughter. Sanpei invites the owner to the wedding, but Kakehashi firmly refuses. The cat also finds the owner's household stifling. The owner claims, "The final fate of humans is nothing but suicide," and his words may hold some truth. Drunken and lost, the cat accidentally falls into a water tank and dies in the struggle.
Around Kanda's daughter's marriage, the work powerfully critiques the arrogance of the bourgeoisie and the opportunism of money-driven individuals. Kanda schemes and mobilizes resources, "forcing Kakehashi to surrender," solely because the owner has neglected his wife. His confidence stems from his wealth and influence. Suzuki, who kowtows to Kanda and becomes his spy and intermediary, does so for money as well. Even the cat realizes that "money is indeed the driving force behind all things in the world." Those who fully understand the power of money and wield it effectively are none other than the capitalists.
The work delivers a scathing critique of those who "fix their noses and eyes on money" and will do anything for profit, portraying their lack of morality, humanity, and shame as "wicked humans." Through the cat's perspective, the work reveals the owner's "obsession," Hangetsu's "disdain for fashion," Meitien's "playfulness," Dokugen's "enlightenment," and Suzuki's "selfishness and opportunism," highlighting their distinct personalities. The owner's laughter and curses contain satire against the money-driven society, a hatred for the violence of military and police forces under militarism, and the integrity of intellectuals unwilling to align with the powerful. At the same time, the work also criticizes and mocks the owner's weaknesses—his lack of ambition, idleness, pretentiousness, and affectation of sophistication—but this is a "bitter satire" filled with the author's sympathy, frustration, and sorrow.
The work successfully portrays the image of intellectuals in the lower and middle strata of Japan's Meiji era, who are dissatisfied with the social status quo but cannot align with the common people. The novel's structure is unique, with the cat as the protagonist and its life as the narrative framework (from my birth and falling into Kakehashi's household to my accidental drowning after drinking beer). It is novelistic, fluid, and vivid. The cat's commentary may seem scattered, but it is "formally loose yet spiritually focused." The cat serves as a narrator, a critic, and a connector of the story, creating a peculiar charm through its innovative design. The language of the novel is humorous and biting, reflecting influences from Japanese haiku literature and British satirical novels.