Atlantic Books The Cat and The City: A BBC Radio 2 Club Pick

I bought this book for a teenage friend who loves cats. Fortunately I read it first. Set in Tokyo it is a very clever linking of short stories, held together by cats but also by the characters. I found it intriguing and in many ways I loved it, but it does contain frequent references to sexual acts and fantasies. You would therefore need to be careful before giving it as a gift. I think Amazon needs to make buyers aware of the sexual content as the write-up and the beautiful cover misled me into thinking it is just a book about cats in the city.

I must admit that the very attractive cover of this book drew me to it when I saw it on Amazon and when I read that the novel is set in Tokyo and features a cat who “brushes up against the seemingly disparate lives of the city dwellers, connecting them in unexpected ways”, I thought it would make an interesting read - and, up to a point, it did. However, I didn’t realize from the information on Amazon’s description page that this is not really a novel, but a collection of loosely linked short stories, each of which focuses on a different main character - we do see some of the characters from previous stories popping up very briefly in some of the later stories, as well as the aforementioned cat, but I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I hoped or was expecting to.It is true that some of the stories certainly interested me - especially one towards the end which was written partly in conventional text and partly as a Manga and which introduces the reader to an agoraphobic recluse who is befriended by a young boy who is being bullied at school. This particular story looks at the pair’s developing friendship which begins over their mutual concern for an injured cat and is quite a heart-warming one - however, one of the stories which precedes it where we learn how the poor cat was cruelly injured, was one that I didn’t enjoy at all. So, an unusual book with some interesting aspects to it and with some vivid descriptions of the city of Tokyo, but one that I thought was a bit of a mixed bag and where I found some of the stories certainly less enjoyable than others. Therefore, as I have mixed feelings about this book, this has to be a three star read for me - although I should perhaps mention that from the amount of four and five star reviews on this page, I appear to be in the minority here.3 Stars.

What a beautiful little book. For calico cat fans, Japan fans or for readers who enjoy good short stories. I am not usually a fan of the short story genre, but I found this collection interesting and charming.

I adored this book so much, it was mesmerising and utterly brilliant, I've never read a book quite like this and don't think I ever will again... the story is just so unique and special!As the title implies, the story follows a cat in a city, this city being Tokyo and what a fascinating city it is. The book is made up of lots of short stories that are independent from one another but all connect through the cat and some other small connection, such as  the main character being a background character in another story.Through the pages, we meet some interesting characters and see the city through their eyes. Each character added a different perspective on the city and a different situation to be worked through.Not only are the stories enticing and unique in terms of plot, Bradley also presents the reader with more than just words, he uses pictures in one story and manga in another. It added another layer of WOW factor to this book, ensuring I will remember it for life.Whilst this is a short review, it's only because I've struggled to find the words... but hopefully my love for this book is CLEAR!It's a winner!

The design of this book is gorgeous and I’m not ashamed to say, the cultural and cat inclusion was enough to sell it to me without knowing the plot. However I started it last night and loved the writing from the first two pages.