The Guest Cat is a short book, but descriptions like these often have allusions. In addition, there was a smaller cobalt-blue Chinese porcelain planter farther away from the veranda, at the edge of the pond, filled with the same black water and more water lilies. Hiraide handles this by focusing on minute detail:Ī pond, which received water cascading over a waterfall, was located in the center of the garden a little to the east, and there were two planters for water lilies–embracing more than one variety of the aquatic flower–embedded in the earth a short distance from the pond and near the veranda. Rather, it meditates on the normal gifts of life, and, as you should expect from Japanese literature, how transient they can be. This isn’t a romance novel or anything of the sort. The couple gets along well, with only normal, small arguments. The work-from-home couple then has to find a new apartment, one away from Chibi. When one of the couple’s elderly landlords dies, the widow decides to sell the property.

The main drama of the story centers around everyday events. She hunts insects in the gardens of the neighborhood and makes herself at home when given a chance. Chibi doesn’t do anything a cat wouldn’t normally do. It’s hard to believe that is over 30 years ago! The author isn’t familiar with cats, so Chibi’s antics surprise and delight him. The novella offers a detailed slice of life set in the late 1980s. The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide focuses on a childless couple who is adopted by the neighbor’s cat.

The guest cat