I must admit that I’m not entirely sure that I can do justice to The Cat and the City in any meaningful way, as it is such a multi-layered and, to be quite honest, brilliant book. Framed as a series of poignant vignettes, experimenting with the ergodic form, the main narrative maps the city of Tokyo and some of its local denizens and quite simply, I found the whole experience of reading this utterly mesmerising. Bradley intricately and sensitively links the lives and stories of his individual characters with a very naturalistic ebb and flow, moving them delicately and skilfully like literary chess pieces, to the fore and the aft of each story, seeking a sense of belonging and connection in a city constantly on the move.

The writing, plotting, and descriptive detail and atmosphere of this book is so perfectly rendered, that I literally sat down to read from start to finish in a day. I was moved from joy to sadness to laughter at regular intervals, and as the isolation of city life wends its way through these individuals’ urban existence, the points where meaningful connections are made or lost, were particularly emotive. The author completely captures the tautness and deceptive simplicity of Japanese fiction, where small events take on huge and metaphorical import, and simple lives give us a window into, and pause for thought on, our own existence and feelings. I’ve never understood it when someone says that they finish a book and then immediately re-read the same book again, but there was a definite twinge of this on finishing this one. Consequently, as someone who very rarely re-reads books, I can give this book no higher praise that I will re-read this, more than once I suspect, and will undoubtedly be as enchanted and moved by it as on my first reading. Highly recommended.

These short stories cannot be categorised by genre. They are a trawl through the city, a vehicle to show the reader the diverse layers of this vibrant metropolis, through fiction, magical realism, sci-fi and a graphic story at the back. They are cute and curious and the author clearly knows his city very well. It almost feels like a Japanese person has penned them, quirky and observant and just a touch of otherworldly adventures.

The opening story was, for me, the one I favoured most. It tells of a young woman having a tattoo engraved on her back and it to be a 3-d map of the city of Tokyo. This will, of course take months if not years and towards the end of the project the tattooist inserts a small calico cat, near the monument of Hachiko at Shibuya Station. But that cat won't stay still and it is almost as though it wants to travel into the next story and the next and so on.

The cat makes an appearance in each story, worming its way in with a homeless man; or appearing in a train carriage, just briefly. It is the subject of a set of photographs adorning the walls of Cafe Neko (a cat cafe where people assemble to drink coffee and pet the resident cats).

Relationship flicker and stutter through book, people reappear, fleetingly and then more consistently. Mari and George are an Anglo-Japanese couple who struggle with communication and aren't particularly appealing. Kyoko keeps popping up in her pink and beige outfit.

The stories are set in the run-up to the Tokyo Olympics, which we now know have been cancelled due to the Coronavirus crisis. This is a city in preparation and it is a peek behind the scenes of the neon / traditional sites and just ordinary streets with ordinary people. It is thus a good book to pick up if you are heading to Tokyo any time soon.

Beautiful, captivating and a joy to read. The cat connecting through the stories was such a unique device and really encompasses the juxtaposition between disparity and connectedness that comes from living in a city. I've never been to Japan but this made me want to go even more!

I adored this book. I was initially drawn in by the cover, I love reading Japanese books focusing on cats a la The Guest Cat, and the synopsis was intriguing.

I"m so pleased to say this is one of the best in the genre. Beautifully written, with many character stories carefully weaved together, The Cat and the City skilfully weaves between the streets of Tokyo combining human stories with local lore.

I loved going on this journey with the author and the ending was truly emotional. I highly recommend it.

It's hard to believe that this is the author's first book or that it is not in fact written by someone who is Japanese. The writing is just brilliant and certainly evoked memories of my trip to Japan. I have to say I never visited the seedy side of Roppongi district in Tokyo so I can't vouch for that, and some may find some of that side of the book not to their taste.

When the author wrote this book he would have no reason to doubt that the Olympics would not be going ahead in 2020 and so you do have to go along with the references of Tokyo preparing for the Olympics and people flying in for them.

Seemingly full of short stories, as you begin to read further into the book one or two of the characters are repeated and so you start to see the connections. The main connection throughout is of course the cat in the city. My only trouble was the mixed up time line - when you meet the characters again it could be before or after you last read about them. I almost want to read it again and really get to know them all better.

I loved the part about the American translator and it was so clever the way her footnotes were built into the tale she translated. I also loved the "cat scan" and could sense where that part of the story was heading.

The book does contain a lot of Japanese words - most of which I was familiar with and got the "jokes", but don't let that put you off as the story flows without knowing what they mean. It even contains a bit of manga, which I found difficult to read on the kindle.

I’ve got to admit that I judge a book by its cover and I'm so glad I requested this beauty.
The book is a collection of stories all happening in Tokyo with apparently only a calico cat in common as he makes cameos in every single story. We have a wide range of characters from Japanese people coming to a Tokyo for work Some foreigners, American, British, Australian, and I think a couple of cases of Japanese-Korean "hafu"
It's a difficult book to describe because it has a bit of everything. Likeable and unlikeable characters, people who you might not think much of that turn out to be incredibly interesting, or other people who you thought would be appealing but turn out to be just plain or pretentious.
There's a bit of romance, a bit of good old fashioned story telling, crime, a little bit of blood and even racism (from a Japanese guy who dislikes foreigners)
I'm not sure if this book will please some Japanese people as there are mentions of stereotypes and some cliches that has the potential to offend.
Having said that, I personally didn't find it offensive at all, as the focus of the book are the stories that intertwine in a very subtle manner.
The introduction of the Japanese language and kanji brings the book into another level of both writing and reading, because in one hand the writer has to put you in there, and make you feel a little uncomfortable with a new alphabet to make the reading experience more realistic, but as a reader if you aren't interested in the language then you could get distracted and you might feel clumpsy or ever bored.
My only trigger warning is Animal cruelty, which I thought was a little out of place and could've been dealt with differently.

I absolutely love the book. I found it properly relatable (if you have ever live abroad you'd like this) I never have live in Japan and I'm not planning to so reading a book from an author who has that experience and put together a series of characters that sometimes the only thing they have in common is the city where they live was refreshing.
This book made me reflect on my own experiences when I went to Japan, I brought some warmth into my heart at the mention of places I've visited, and motivated me to continue studying the language and their literature (translated though)? I love books that make me feel and think at the same time.
I will follow this author very closely

There is something magical about this book, which reads like a collection of short stories, all linked and intertwined somehow (and featuring, of course, the calico cat). Each story is so different, and initially I was slightly jarred by the seemingly random changes in pace. But as I kept reading I was enthralled and as the pieces started fitting together.

I can see myself revisiting this book often in the future.

It's no secret that the Japanese love cats. We can see this in their art, their folk tales and modern literature and they invented the quirky cat cafes that are springing up over Britain. Being fascinated by both Japanese culture and cats, this book was always destined to be on my reading list.

This is an innovative and charming book that highlights individual stories in Tokyo, bathed in typical Japan. All of these are linked together by an enigmatic cat that travels around Tokyo, sometimes even taking the train. The characters are connected to each other in different and subtle ways, so when reading the reader forms a pathway. Ah, so he's the father of the man who...that kind of thing.

Each of the tales is sufficiently different as are the characters, each having their own issue. The writing is distinctive too, sometimes first person sometimes third, but always maintaining pace and interest. The use of the odd Japanese word is a little confusing at times and disrupts the flow while the word is looked-up, although some are explained. Here the Kindle comes into its own with the excellent thesaurus even knowing foreign words. The author writes with the fluidity of an English speaker but obviously knows Japan very well.

The famous Japanese gangsters - yakuza - are among the themes of Japanese culture the book considers, as well as homelessness, isolation, poverty, family, language, immigration, misogyny and sexual assault, food, and the preparations for the 2020 Olympic Games (which, due to the coronavirus, didn't take place). All drawn together by the wandering and solitary cat.

The cat is a catalyst even though it often appears to play a minor part. There is something magical and beautifully traditional about the mysterious cat, while being caught up in a thoroughly modern city, thus portraying the 21st century slant. References to the ancient folklore of bakeneko, a supernatural being, make it even more alluring.

A stunning and unique book. I loved every minute of it.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

This book was incredible! Each story was unique and I loved that they all connected in some way. I found myself waiting and looking forward to seeing how the cat would weave it's way into each story.

Every character was interesting and left me wanting to know more about them.

It also really made me crave Okonomiyaki and a nice cold Asahi!

I will definitely be recommending this book to others!

Nick Bradley's debut novel is a collection of intertwined stories that take place in Tokyo, this fascinating, terrifying, overpopulated and lonely city. Although the stories initially seem separate from one another, the reader will quickly recognise the recurring characters and realise that they are all connected in one way or another. And, of course, there is a calico cat that makes an appearance in every single one of these stories, leaving its mark in the lives of all these struggling characters.

Japanese literature is known for its frequent fascination with cats, and Bradley, having himself lived and worked in Japan, attempted to weave a story of this complicated city where anything and everything seems possible. Instead of an ode to Tokyo and Japan in general, Bradley often seems to view certain events and practices with a critical eye, which is quite refreshing, since most foreigners who write about Japan tend to over-romanticise the country and everything they have experienced whilst there.

I also enjoyed Bradley's prose and writing style a lot. While I started this book with a certain level of caution and apprehension, I was quickly drawn into the author's words and found myself reading one story after another, curious to discover which character we are going to follow next and what kind of role the calico cat will play in the story. I also loved how Bradley's writing seemed to change and shift according to the needs of the story, while some stories surpassed the boundaries of conventional prose as they were enriched with pages of a manga comic one of the characters was writing, the case notes of a detective, etc.

Although my experience reading The Cat and the City is mostly positive, there were a couple of things that I had an issue with. Firstly, there were a number of words that were purposely left in Japanese throughout the text (but especially in the first few stories), although there was no need to. I understand that since the stories are set in Japan and most of the characters are Japanese it seems more natural for them to use certain Japanese words, but when there is an English equivalent (which was often used right after the Japanese word anyway), it seems rather redundant to me to use the Japanese word. Also, although I gather that most of the book's readers might have an interest in Japan, not all of them will be acquainted with the Japanese language, so it might be quite bothersome and interrupting for them to encounter random Japanese words.

Secondly, even though Bradley created very solid characters and stories that covered a wide spectrum of personalities and interests, I still felt like I was reading Japanese characters written by a non-Japanese person. Of course, I understand that the author is not Japanese and this is to be expected, but I simply couldn't shake off the feeling that quite often his characters would behave or speak in a way that felt a bit unnatural for a Japanese person.

Still, The Cat and the City is a very entertaining, unique and well-written book that is definitely worth reading, especially if you have an interest in Japan and its culture. As a debut work, it is quite promising and Bradley is definitely a writer I will be looking forward to read more of in the future.

The Cat and the City is an imaginative debut from Nick Bradley; the writing is very accomplished and the concept is intriguing. It is not quite a novel, but much more than a collection of short stories. Normally, I find them very unsatisfying and disjointed, but the stories in The Cat and the City are connected, no matter how tenuously, and highlight the loneliness and alienation of living in a city with more than thirty-seven million inhabitants.
The green-eyed calico cat weaves its way in and out of the lives of the various characters in this book – some native Japanese, some foreign – and shines a spotlight on their story before moving on. The connections are not always obvious, but if you keep reading it will all start to make sense.
The writer plays with different styles – haiku, manga, science fiction to name but a few – to give us a warts-and-all portrait of life in Tokyo in the period leading up to the 2020 Olympic Games. Although written from a Western perspective, the writer displays a vast knowledge of Japanese culture that felt authentic to me (I have never been to Japan, but would love to go there someday).
I chose to read this book because of the subject matter and the attractive cover art; I was not disappointed. Obviously, I enjoyed some of the stories more than others, but overall it was beautifully written and thought provoking. Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

My thanks to Atlantic Books for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Cat and the City’ by Nick Bradley in exchange for an honest review. I was very taken with it and purchased my own ebook copy on publication day.

Publisher: “A stray cat dances through Tokyo, connecting a group of apparent strangers, in this inventive literary debut.”

Tokyo is making preparations for its hosting of the 2020 Olympics (ironic!) A stray calico cat, as depicted on the book’s cover, is making her way through the back alleys and along the way interacts with various residents of the megacity.

There are touches of magical realism seeded throughout. The first story is of a famous tattoo artist, who is fulfilling an unusual commission to tattoo a large map of the city upon the back of Naomi, a young woman. Naomi is adamant that she wants no people included in the tattoo but he secretly “shaded in a small cat–two blobs of colour, like a calico–just opposite the statue of Hachiko the dog in Shibuya.” On another day he notices that the cat is no longer there but then sees it in another location.

This movement continues until on the day he completes the tattoo, he sees the cat is positioned on the tattoo as if outside his shop: “He knew then, with a terrible certainty, that if he were to glance up from the tattoo on Naomi’s body and look outside the door, he would see the cat sitting there, its green eyes watching him.”

Nick Bradley has skilfully brought together a collection of short stories with characters that interlink in unexpected ways. He utilises a variety of styles to tell these tales including a SF story, manga, poetry, footnotes, and photography. Various motifs are also woven throughout the narrative. For example, both the cat and Naomi are described as having strange green eyes and both pop up in unexpected places acting as catalysts.

“Sitting upright, the cat looked directly at me. In its luminous eyes I saw something. Something chaotic. A city reflected in its irises. It was like the cat saw us all moving around, and just as the image of the city bounced off its eyeballs, so too did the cat reject any idea of human form or control. This cat had no master, and I envied it for that,”

In many ways ‘The Cat and the City’ reminded me of the writings of Haruki Murakami. It is intelligent and sophisticated; quite playful in parts and disturbing in others. There was one scene that upset me very much and any sympathy that I had for the character involved immediately vanished.

It’s the epitome of a multilayered literary novel and I was completely captivated by it. I am certain that it is a novel that I will want to revisit.

Highly recommended.

This is such a charming, easy to read book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s built up with lots of short stories that actually intertwine with each other. Some of the characters also appear in the other stories. The book also has some of Japan’s modern day cultures in it, like the cat cafes. To old Japanese myths. If you are finding it hard to read and concentrate, this is a book for you as it’s easy to pick up and put down without forgetting what you’ve read.

The story is based in Tokyo and it’s preparation for the opening of the 2020 Olympics. Where we meet a homeless calico cat that meets different people on it’s journey around the city. While it finds food and somewhere safe to sleep.

The cat meets some very interesting characters on it’s journey:

A young girl with piercing green eyes, who gets a huge tattoo of Tokyo on her back. The tattooist who is doing her tattoo becomes obsessed with his work. She didn’t want any people on the map, so the tattooist decided to put a cat into the map on her back. Every time before he starts to work on her tattoo he spends ages looking for the cat as it appears to be moving around.

We also meet some homeless people most of them live in a local park. They have started to notice some of their friends are disappearing. There are roomers going around that the homeless are being rounded up, but they don’t know where they take them. The city officials are trying to tidy up the city for the Olympics, so Tokyo gives a good impression to the world.

We meet some taxi drivers and the people that they come into contact with. From a British woman who has become a translator for a company that also deals with all of the literature for the Olympics.

At one point the calico cat ends up hurt, a young boy and a hermit take care of it, and nurse it back to health. The hermit and the boy build an unlikely friendship during this time. Once the cat becomes well again though it leaves the hermits home and goes back to a life on the street. This part of the book has been produced in the style of a manga comic.

There are lots of other characters that intertwine with each other and the calico cat, which has some impact on the people it comes into contact with. In some instances making things better. The story is about humanity and how all our lives can in some way intertwine with others without us even knowing about it.

Like I’ve already said this is a charming book to read. We learn what its like for different types of people living in a modern day Tokyo. It’s well worth you taking the time to read it. I can’t believe that this is a debut novel and I look forward to seeing what this author writes next.

The Cat and the City is Nick Bradley’s debut novel, or a series of short stories linked by a stray cat, and as both a life-long Japanophile and ailurophile, I had a feeling this would really resonate with me; however, what I didn't fully anticipate was quite how much I would adore it. This is an impressive first foray into the literary game for the author and I must say it felt so comforting to pick up; it was a sheer delight from beginning to denouement and a stunning slice of escapism many are seeking right now in these strange times. Undoubtedly one of the most charming and enjoyable reading treats of the past decade, this is a potent and mesmerising amalgamation of some of my favourite things: fabulous furry felines and both Japanese literature and the wider culture. I cannot recommend these quirky and wonderfully woven tales highly enough. If you read merely one book this summer make sure it’s this masterpiece. Simply exquisite. Many thanks to Atlantic Books for an ARC.

I'm not the biggest fan of short stories, unless they are inbetweenies in series books, but I have occasionally taken a chance on a collection with a running theme or similar. This book is unlike any that I have read in construction as it pretty much throws away the rule book in delivering an eclectic mix of stories in multiple formats and indeed lengths, and covering many themes and genres, all linked by a stray cat, tattooed with a map of Tokyo.
It's fun and serious - often at the same time - and the journey it took me on was unique. I'd love to expand on this more but I think that detail might spoil others' own journeys so am reluctant.
I've said it's a collection of stories but there are many crossovers to be found along the way, characters and locations repeat, some tales are continued in a way so you do have to read the book more like a novel rather than dipping in here and there. There's a moment when the whole thing wakes up and you really need to be there for that at the right time and place.
To be honest, if this is your sort of book or even if it just piques your interest, please give it a go, and try and go in blind, You'll probably thank me later.
Oh, and it's a debut... I'm now quite looking forward to seeing what is next for this new voice...
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Sophie’s first book of the month was one she picked up to satisfy a prompt in this year’s PopSugar Reading Challenge – a book set in Japan. The Cat and the City by Nick Bradley is a collection of interwoven short stories all set in Tokyo as the city prepares to host the 2020 Olympic Games and yes, it does feel slightly odd to read this knowing those games are now postponed for a year.

Although each story is unique in both genre, style, and more, all the stories connect to one another with characters repeatedly showing up. In one story a character may take a taxi or visit a convenience store and in the next, the taxi driver or the convenience store clerk will be the new protagonist. It’s almost a literary Love Actually but with better writing. There is romance, science fiction, comedy, and tragedy to find here, and the only unifying element is a calico cat who winds in and out of every story. Sometimes the cat is a key character, in other stories she merely passes through for a moment, but she is always there.

Sophie wasn’t sure what she expected from this book but it certainly wasn’t the discomforting prose she found in the opening story “Tattoo” which really got under her skin (ironic for a tale set entirely in a tattoo parlor), the science-fiction heartbreak of “Copy Cat”, or the unexpectedly sexual “Autumn Leaves”. The odd mixture of styles and genres reminded her strongly of Neil Gaiman who is one of her favorite authors.

Sophie is sure she will be picking up more from Nick Bradley in the future because there’s nothing she likes more than unexpectedly falling in love with a book she merely hoped to like.

I couldn't finish this book.

Usually, this would have been a perfect novel for me. Cats, Japan, and multiple stories? Sign me in. Sadly, I couldn't care about any of the characters, and the prose was probably not my cup of tea.

Simply gorgeous!!
The writing technique: short stories connected not only by the ever present cat, but by some common characters - at the same time giving us more details to build each and every character's story.
I loved the veiled allusion of fantastic/supra-natural as I liked the many facets of the cat: a calico cat; a woman; a monster; a robot; mystical being; you name it!

A fascinating series of snapshots through the eyes and lives of Tokyo residents. Family and familial relationships are detailed and are woven together by the travelling cat. The characters allude to the coming of The Olympic games of Tokyo 2020, and it is strange to know this will not happen as a direct consequence of The Pandemic. Although this is a series of short stories, it is better read in one go, over a short space of time to notice and enjoy the interconnectedness of the characters.

This book will appeal to anyone with in interest in Japan, language,, culture and ritual, and an open mind.
A good read. 📚

Possibly the strangest novel I've read in years. It's quirky, funny, and full of life and hope. I really enjoyed it.