The cat ran away.

I feel unsure what to say of this book. Toru Okada’s cat runs away and then he meets a bunch of people. That’s it. We cook spaghetti and we listen to his phone calls and lots and lots of people tell stories to him that we are subjected to listen to, never knowing whether this story will tie into the overall arch of finding the cat.

His wife leaves him, but Toru Okada does little more than take the train and sit on a bench. Receive letters and receive phone calls and visit a 14-year old girl while she sunbathes.

As I undertook the journey I felt the fear of stagnation. A central theme is following the water – when the water flows you have to follow it and if the water has stopped flowing you have to accept it and wait. I felt the suppression; when he goes into the well and stays there he embraces the darkness and lets it develop him. And he lets it take the time that it must take.

The book wraps hidden themes in magic realism. The meanings that may be explored are, ultimately, not for me to reveal. The circumstances and plots through the book twist turn and sometimes intertwine, but each person should read this for their own benefits and their own themes, not to follow a clear cut story.

I highly recommend this book, less for the story and more for the journey. As you read this story do not read it for the main character and do not read it to find the cat. Read it to accept suffering, stagnation and fear in your life.