A lovely convalescence present from my sister-in-law (thank you so much Jane!), this translation of the modern Japanese classic about the relationship between human and feline thoroughly resonated with me. Written in 1997, but only translated into English last year, it tells of a kitten found and adopted by Mayumi Inaba, a novelist and poet. Like my Wenusia (below), Mii came into the author's life by chance not choice, and like my Wenusia, Mii was "a calico, with black and tan stripes on her head and patches on her back, and a belly that was pure white."
Although the book focuses on the cat, its setting reflects the changes that Japan was undergoing from the mid-1970s on. Land gets developed. Flats to rent are difficult to find. Traffic roars through once-quiet neighbourhoods. Rusty chain-link fences, ancient shrines, vending machines, blossom and bin-bags. New warehouses block out views over picturesque landscapes. Tenants moving on have to leave their cat behind as the new landlord won't take pets. The cat waits for its owners to return; they don't, but other humans start leaving bowls of cat food out for it.
When the author moved from a house with a garden to a small fifth-floor flat, poor Mii was deprived of the ability to come and go at will and play outdoors. I perceive that Wenusia has an excellent life; she spends several hours a day outside, though never straying too far, always returning for food and a cosy bed. I am reminded of Moni's old cat, Jovis, who spent his entire life in small flats.
The book brought me new insights into how cats perceive their symbiotic relationship with their human 'owner'; the small signs that a cat will give to the human to say 'I appreciate what you do for me'.
I love it when, sitting at my desk in my kitchen, there's a sudden commotion outside and Wenusia's face pops up on the window ledge outside. Just like Felusia in Jeziorki, she commands the human within to open the window with a simple facial expression: a momentary opening of the mouth. And when she scrambles up onto the windowsill inside, wanting to be let out – I open the window, she manoeuvres her way out with her articulated back, raising her tail so it doesn't get caught in the window as I close it – without having to look back to check that it's clear. And when I return from a day in town, and Wenusia is waiting for me on the drive, and comes bounding up to greet me.
Mii, like Wenusia, had her boyfriends; local tomcats. Sadly, Mii got pregnant the very first time she came into heat; she had a single stillborn kitten, too big to be delivered. Mii had to have her womb removed by a vet, so she never got to realise herself in maternity.
Although Mii and Mayumi lived together a long time, the last five years of Mii's life were beset with health problems. She finally died, aged 20, of old age. Sadly, Mayumi Inaba died of pancreatic cancer in 2014 at the age of 64.
In all my life, there have been only two translators who were so excellent that to this day I remember their names as I do the authors whose books they translated – William Weaver and Jennifer Croft. Ginny Tapley Takemori joins this select company. The book shines with the artistry of an excellent translator, one who knows where to leave in and explain a word from the source language, one who retains the poetry of the original. It is written in a way that I found easy to read and absorb, and convey so much about the subject and the author's mindset. If there's a cat in your life, this book is for you too.
[I can also recommend the Foresto anti-tick collar that Wenusia is wearing. Since I bought it for her, I've not found a single live tick in Wenusia's fur. Before attaching the collar, I found four of the buggers, plucking them out before they started sucking blood.]
This time three years ago:
The speed of life
This time four years ago:
Does it all come right in the end?
Heavenly Jeziorki
This time 12 years ago:
Why are all the shops shut today?
This time 13 years ago:
Jeziorki at its most beautiful
This time 15 years ago:
Useful and useless in my wallet
This time 16 years ago:
In search of the dream klimat - remote viewing made real
This time 17 years ago:
Zakopane to Kraków in 3hrs 45min
This time 18 years ago:
The year's most beautiful day?
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