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    We, the Children of Cats
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    We, the Children of Cats
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    We, the Children of Cats
    Ebook334 pages6 hours

    We, the Children of Cats

    By Tomoyuki Hoshino

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    By turns teasing and terrifying, laconic and luminous, the stories in this anthology are drawn from sources as diverse as Borges, Nabokov, Garcia-Marquez, and traditional Japanese folklore, and yet they ultimately reside in a slyly subversive literary world that is all their own. Blending an uncompromising ethical vision with exuberant, free-wheeling imagery and bracing formal experimentation, the five short stories and three novellas included in We, the Children of Cats show the full range and force of Hoshino's imagination. The stories include a man and woman who find their genders and sexualities brought radically into question when their bodies sprout new parts; a man who travels from Japan to Latin America in search of revolutionary purpose only to find much more than he bargained for; a journalist who investigates a poisoning at an elementary school and gets lost in an underworld of buried crimes, secret societies, and haunted forests; and two young killers, exiled from Japan, who find a new beginning as resistance fighters in Peru. An afterword by translator and editor Brian Bergstrom and a new preface by Hoshino himself is also included.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherIndependent Publishers Group
    Release dateJul 1, 2012
    ISBN9781604867565
    Unavailable
    We, the Children of Cats
    Author

    Tomoyuki Hoshino

    Since his literary debut in 1997, Tomoyuki Hoshino has published twelve books on subjects ranging from “terrorism” to queer/trans community formations; from the exploitation of migrant workers to journalistic ethics; and from the Japanese emperor system to neoliberalism. He is also well known in Japan for his nonfiction essays on politics, society, the arts, and sports, particularly soccer. He maintains a website and blog at http://www.hoshinot.jp/.

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    Reviews for We, the Children of Cats

    3.5/5

    7 ratings2 reviews

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    • 3/5
      So I just finished this book with pretty mixed emotions.

      I loved the short stories. I do really enjoy Japanese writing, and I think, for the most part, Hoshino was no different. I didn't really like the novellas, though. A part of me felt like I wasn't even supposed to like the novellas? I don't know. I found it really challenging to read sometimes.

      At points, the writing was beautiful and had that particular style of magical realism that I love. It was strange, and wonderful, and surreal. At other points, the writing was completely absurd and bizarre and I couldn't tell who the narrative voices were.

      So I'd say I loved most of this novel. I think if I had read the acknowledgements at the end of the collection, I would've been able to understand it better, but at that point I was pretty done with this book.

      Such a mixed review -- but if you're new to magical realism or you aren't sure about Japanese authors, I wouldn't pick this up.
    • 4/5
      We, the Children of Cats is a collection of Tomoyuki Hoshino's early short works. Published in 2012 by PM Press under its Found in Translation imprint, the volume gathers together five short stories and three novellas which were originally released in Japan between 1998 and 2006. (PM Press is also the publisher of the only novel by Hoshino that is currently available in English, Lonely Hearts Killer.) Three of the stories in We, the Children of Cats were previously translated and released in English, but the others are appearing for the first time. Although one story, "Chino," was translated by Lucy Fraser, Brian Bergstrom was primarily responsible for editing and translating the collection as a whole. Bergstrom also contributes a substantial afterword to the volume, "The Politics of Impossible Transformation." We, the Children of Cats was my introduction to Hoshino's work.After a newly written preface by Hoshino for the collection, "To All of You Reading This in English," We, the Children of Cats begins with the short story "Paper Woman." This story ended up being my favorite piece included in the volume and made me want to read everything that Hoshino has ever written. This set my expectations pretty high for the rest of We, the Children of Cats; for the most part, I wasn't disappointed. I did tend to prefer Hoshino's short stories ("Paper Woman, "The No Fathers Club," "Chino," "We, the Children of Cats," and "Air") over his longer novellas (Sand Planet, Treason Diary, and A Milonga for the Melted Moon.) For me, reading Hoshino's works was often a heady and even dizzying experience; his shorter pieces are still mystifying but more grounded, immediately accessible, and easily grasped as a whole.The stories collected in We, the Children of Cats are not directly related to one another although many share common elements and themes. Faint echoes of Hoshino's earlier stories can often be seen in his later works. Latin America is a frequent touchstone in We, the Children of Cats. Which, considering Hoshino's personal interest and time spent in the area, shouldn't be too surprising. The influence of magical realism, which has strong ties to Latin American literature, is also readily apparent in Hoshino's stories. Perhaps my favorite recurring theme to be found in We, the Children of Cats is that of the power granted to words and language and their ability to change, process, create, restore, and transform truth and reality.As Bergstrom's illuminating afterword asserts, transformation is the key to We, the Children of Cats. Some of the stories are more realistic (some are even based on or inspired by actual events) while others are more fantastic, but they all deal with transitions, growth, and changing identity in some way. Hoshino's writing style tends to be discursive and his stories aren't always particularly straightforward, but his imagery is powerful and poetic. Every once in a while there would be a thought, idea, or phrase that would momentarily floor me. After reading We, the Children of Cats, even I felt changed or transformed in some nearly indescribable way. We, the Children of Cats isn't an easy collection, at times it can be difficult and even troubling, but I am glad that I put in the effort needed to truly appreciate it.Experiments in Manga