New Books: Kitty Lit
Cat people: we aren’t known for much other than spinsterhood, paranoia, emotional and social disconnection. Our one spokesperson who’s more than quaint at best is Catwoman. But lately there’s been a surge of authors speaking out for us, writing literary cat fiction that, as one reviewer said of a book on this list, “even dog lovers should read.” If you need more bonding time with your kitten after showing hundreds of pictures of him to everyone you meet, consider one of these new books. They’ll surely draw your cat into your lap to stretch out on the pages.
Seven Lives and One Great Love: The Memoirs of a Cat
Lena Divani, Konstantine Matsoukas, tr.
Europa Editions
Sugar Jacques reflects on his seventh life, spent with writer Miss Sweetie, whose busy life gives him innumerable stories to tell in his witty and cultured style.
The Guest Cat
Takashi Hiraide, Eric Selland, tr.
New Directions
In Japanese poet Takashi Hiraide’s new novel, a best-seller in France and an award winner in Japan, the growing distance between a working couple in Tokyo is reversed by a visiting cat, who brings the couple new realizations about life as it takes them away from their desks.
The Feline Disclosures / Divulgaciones Felinas
Louis E. V. Nevaer
Hispanic Economics
Published in both English and Spanish, The Feline Disclosures is a collection of stories inspired by the cat musings of Andy Warhol and Mexican artist José Luis Loría.
Cat Out of Hell
Lynne Truss
Hammer
The sarcastic and well-read feline Roger tells stories of his nine lives, which began in 1932, to a man called Wiggy. Through a librarian listening to a recording of their conversation, Truss’s hellish feline protagonist blurs narrative lines between humorous and horrific.