Oh, Tama!: A Mejiro Novel

Tama is a Japanese cat who was suddenly thrust into many different situations when she is forced to live with Natsuyuki Kanemitsu; while Tama can’t speak, she does witness Kanemitsu’s interactions with his generally dysfunctional friends, colleagues, and more all in downtown Tokyo. While the many people who come in and out of Tama’s life are generally not well off, they have their opinions about life and are not afraid to view them.

This is a classic Japanese novel from the 20th century, and this novel is one of the author’s better known novels in English. The novel is fairly comedic by Japanese standards, but American audiences might have a bit of trouble understanding the comedy and why it is comedic; t is generally about the situations overall and not necessarily about telling jokes. Also the ennui of life and how it can just seem to pass by is something that is often found in 20th century Japanese novels. So just be forewarned if you are not familiar with Japanese literature; I enjoyed the novel and misadventures of all the characters, but it might not appeal to everyone.