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This Week’s Word is “Cat.”
David Mitchell is one of my favorite authors. I particularly enjoy the nested and interlinked story structures of Cloud Atlas and Ghostwritten. When the PR material for Nick Bradley’s The Cat and the City came through, likening it to the work of Mitchell, I was intrigued. It promised a series of interlocked stories set throughout Tokyo; I couldn’t wait to give a try.
What is The Cat and the City?
It’s a novel of nested stories that takes in the melting pot of modern Tokyo. The stories are all linked via a mystical cat that travels about the city visiting various people, giving us glimpses of Tokyo life. As the stories unfold we see their characters are linked to one another in ways only the reader (and the cat) are privy to.
The Cat and the City is a deliciously geeky novel. It opens with a Bachmannesque unsettling story of a yakuza tattooist, who takes on an unusual commission. A young woman who wants a cityscape tattooed on her back. As the tattoo nears completion the tattooist begins to unravel. Central to his discombobulation is a cat he placed into the picture. A cat that seems to keep on moving.
After its macabre prelude, we then enter the core of the novel. Jumping to a homeless man…
