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I Am a Cat
I Am a Cat (Related to this series)
- Author
- Natsume Soseki
- Narrator
- Mark Takeshi Ota
- Publisher
- Random House
- Publish Date
- 28 May 2026
- Run Time
- 6 hours 16 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
Brought to you by Penguin.
Discover the original Japanese Cat classic, now in a vibrant new translation by Nick Bradley, author of The Cat and the City.
'I am a Cat. But I still don't have a name...'
Once a stray kitten, I Am a Cat’s narrator finds himself adopted by a local scholar and thrown headfirst into the absurd upper middle-class world of Meiji-era Japan. Now a noble but somewhat world-weary observer, he has ample opportunity to dissect the strange ways and convoluted conversations of the human race.
First published at the turn of the 20th century, and regarded as one of Japan’s most iconic classics, I Am a Cat is a captivating exploration of identity, society, and the often bewildering nature of the human condition—all seen through the eyes of a very special, uncompromising cat.
‘A biting satire of Meiji-era Japan' Jessie Burton, Guardian
‘Soseki is the representative modern Japanese novelist, a figure of truly national stature’ Haruki Murakami
© Natsume Soseki 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026
Critics Review
-
A nonchalant string of anecdotes and wisecracks, told by a fellow who doesn't have a name, and has never caught a mouse, and isn't much good for anything except watching human beings in action
New Yorker
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A biting satire of Meiji-era Japan told through the eyes of a sardonic street kitten
Guardian
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A mordantly comic evocation of Soseki’s deep pessimism about his own humanity and indeed about humankind in general
Lit Hub
-
Soseki is the representative modern Japanese novelist, a figure of truly national stature
Haruki Murakami
User Reviews
No reviews yet.
Details
- Author
- Natsume Soseki
- Narrator
- Mark Takeshi Ota
- Duration
- 6 hours 16 minutes
- Release Date
- 28 May 2026
- ISBN
- 9781529998542
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Random House
- Genre
- Classic fiction: literary and general, Historical fiction, Fiction in translation, Cats as pets
Synopsis
Brought to you by Penguin.Discover the original Japanese Cat classic, now in a vibrant new translation by Nick Bradley, author of The Cat and the City.'I am a Cat. But I still don't have a name...' Once a stray kitten, I Am a Cat’s narrator finds himself adopted by a local scholar and thrown headfirst into the absurd upper middle-class world of Meiji-era Japan. Now a noble but somewhat world-weary observer, he has ample opportunity to dissect the strange ways and convoluted conversations of the human race.First published at the turn of the 20th century, and regarded as one of Japan’s most iconic classics, I Am a Cat is a captivating exploration of identity, society, and the often bewildering nature of the human condition—all seen through the eyes of a very special, uncompromising cat.‘A biting satire of Meiji-era Japan' Jessie Burton, Guardian‘Soseki is the representative modern Japanese novelist, a figure of truly national stature’ Haruki Murakami© Natsume Soseki 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026
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