Book: A cat, a man, and two women
Author: Junichiro Tanizaki
This is a beautiful yet sad story about the bond between a cat and his owners. But also about love, loneliness, betrayal and manipulation. Tanizaki was able to express subtle emotions but at the same time with a pungent message. One realises how deep emotions and bonds between animals are owners can be. And how complicated the relationships between people are …
It all started with a cat. Shozo is a simple minded and childish man who deeply loves his cat Lily. This book is all about the strong bond between the cat and the master and the jealousy resented by his two wives.
Living with the cat for over 10 years Shozo feels closer to her than to his wives. And the bond they have is really special since after giving her away Lily returns back from a place far away. And Shozo’s love for her deepens even more.
As years go by Lily gets older and her eyes are filled with sadness. Shozo’s heart as well …
After all, people’s faces and characters often change when they’ve suffered a lot, and why shouldn’t it be the same with cats?
Forced by his new wife and his mother, Shozo abandons Lily again and sends her to his ex-wife. But he feels a lot of pain and regret … And Lily only sadness as she keeps looking through the window in the direction of his house.
At first Shinako got the cat with the intention of getting back at his husband, but day by day she gets attached to the cat and wonders how she could dislike Lily before. And the cats starts to love her too …
Cats have a wisdom of their own – they understand at once how someone feels about them.
Meanwhile Shozo feels lonely, missed Lily a lot and starts having nightmares. His relationship with him wife gets worse as he realised that he’s under constant surveillance and has no freedom anymore. Even worse his new wife is lazy and has no eagerness to do any household chores.
In the end he realises he lost his precious cat as well as his former wife . And he himself had no home, nothing to love anymore …