A Cat, A Man And Two Women by Junichiro Tanizaki

Summary:

Considering all I’ve sacrificed, is it too much to ask for one little cat in return?

Shinako has been ousted from her marriage by her husband Shozo and his younger lover Fukuko. She’s lost everything: her home, status and respectability. Yet, the only thing she longs for is Lily, the elegant tortoiseshell cat she shared with her husband. As Shinako pleads for Lily’s return, Shozo’s reluctance to part with the car reveals his true affections, and the lengths he’ll go to hold onto the one he loves most.

About the Author:

Junuchuro Tanisaki is an author from Tokyo, considered to be the greatest Japanese writer of the twentieth century. He was shortlisted for the 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature. 

Rating:

3 stars - ★★★☆☆

Review:

I didn’t dislike A Cat, A Man and Two Women, mainly because it was about a cat. However I didn’t love Tanisaki's style of writing. There were too many thoughts and too little description. It was one that made me wonder if the author has been in a similar situation and is trying very hard to get his point of view across? There wasn’t an awful lot going on except people thinking about what they should do to get what they want.

I did like Lily the cat, she is a very well written cat, especially as a naughty tortie. The author definitely knows and loves cats. And also, why are all cats in Japanese books tortoiseshell? I guess because they bring good luck? I’m just partial to black cats. Lily reminded me a lot of my cat Bianca - being wary of strangers but very affectionate when no one else is watching. And the description of her eyes was very similar to the way Bianca looks sometimes too. It was funny to read how Lily was at the centre of so much drama but just continued her cat life, causing trouble as she went. I wished for a different ending. I wanted the best for little Lily, not to see her get palmed off to people as part of their own plan.

I am also not sure why, or even sure if I was supposed to, but I like Shozo the most out of the three humans. I felt sorry for him most of the time, being manipulated but the people around him. I thought he needed to grow a pair, take Lily and be on his own. I liked him mainly because he really cared for Lily above anything else. I didn’t feel sorry for any of the women in Shozo’s life, which is unusual for me - I don’t tend to side with the men!

A Cat, A Man and Two Women wasn’t as descriptive as I like. It was a lot of reading people’s thought process, but having done some research on Tanisaki, I know now that this is characteristic of his writing. He wrote a lot about social situations and cultural changes. So I’d say that this isn’t the type of writing that I enjoy the most. I’d rather read long descriptions of seasons or food. 

I’m at a bit of a loss of what more to say about the book. It was quite short which is why I managed to finish it without too much trouble despite not enjoying the style of writing. I did want to know how it was going to end, where Lily would end up and which of the human’s plans would come to fruition. Although I probably wouldn’t have got to the end if the book was much longer. I would recommend A Cat, A Man and Two Women if you’re interested in the intricacies of 1900’s Japanese families and relationships, and if you love cats!

New Words:

Acquisitive: excessively interested in acquiring money or material things