Your Humble Servant Cat

«Your Humble Servant Cat» — an ironic gem of Japanese classics, where a household pet becomes the most observant chronicler of human weaknesses. Natsume Sōseki — a master of gentle yet sharp humor, plays with subtle satire here in such a way that the cat's whiskers tremble with pleasure. Before the reader is Tokyo at the start of the 20th century, a fragile era of change. Through its lazy squint and regal independence, the cat describes its owners and their friends: scientists, dreamers, ambitious careerists. It sees their funny anxieties, absurd poses, comical attempts to seem more important than they are. And this panorama of human nature sounds unexpectedly fresh: paradoxically, it is the cat that turns out to be the most sober philosopher in the room. The book is light, sharp, filled with quiet sadness and piercing humor. It is a story about life, where both the funny and the serious coexist as naturally as soft fur and sharp claws. It leaves behind a warm echo — and a desire to listen to one's own inner purring.