Reviews

A Cat, A Man, And Two Women by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki

112211llllllllllllll's review against another edition

4.5

I hope the cat lived a nice life!!!! Please tell me she lived a good life!!!

giuliakyj's review against another edition

1.0

Nonostante sia corto ho fatto fatica a finirlo. Sono andata avanti solo perché volevo capire dove sarebbe andata a parare la storia, ma è stata una delusione. Non mi ha detto nulla, non lascia nulla. I personaggi sono tremendi, delle caricature stereotipate di personalità infami. Non so, forse aveva senso quando è stato scritto, ma è invecchiato proprio male.

Io ho anche una grandissima affinità con i gatti (questo il motivo che mi ha spinto a leggerlo), ma non c'è stato un momento in cui abbia sentito una connessione con la storia.

Un punto che mi preme particolarmente sottolineare è che nella copertina c'è scritto "Tanizaki si addentra con indiscutibile maestria nella psicologia femminile". Leggendo questa frase ero un po' scettica ma visto il successo del libro ero anche curiosa di vedere questa sua acclamata maestria. Se per chi ha scritto la descrizione questo vuol dire addentrarsi abilmente nella psicologia femminile, mi chiedo quanto deve essere ristretta, stereotipata e irrispettosa l'idea che ha delle donne. A lettura finita quella frase diventa offensiva e onestamente dimostra di capirne gran poco.

linniekin's review against another edition

3.0

Started slowly, but was very touching and beautifully poised towards the end.

racoonorj's review against another edition

5.0

a fun and short read for the beginning of 2022!
apa ya, in tu lebih ke semacam cerpen yang manis aja. manis ngeliat gimana perilaku orang-orang bisa mudah terpengaruh cuma karna 1 kucing lucu aja yang disayang ama shozo sampe bikin ribut dia ama 2 perempuan (yang 1 mantan istri, 1 lagi istri barunya) haha. yang bikin warm itu gmn orang-orang itu ketika di dekat lily bisa luluh dan pelan2 bisa nerima dan nyayangi dia seutuhnya (walau buat fukuoka malah jadinya kebalik setelah dia dapet surat dari shinako).

veve_reads's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

4.0

afiqahaira's review against another edition

lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

bethnelson's review against another edition

1.0

I expected to enjoy this book after reading Tanizaki’s ‘In Praise of Shadows’ (which is absolutely amazing), but unfortunately did not. There are some parts that are okay, I enjoyed some of the scenes he set, but that’s about it.
The plot just isn’t very believable and seems forced, none of the characters are likable and the writing isn’t the best. A part of that may be the translation, which seems like it could’ve been done with a tad more fluidity.
There is a LOT of unnecessary repetition which makes the book pretty boring, despite it only being 120 pages it does drag a bit. The ending is abrupt and offers no resolution, which leads to a pretty unsatisfying read.

I’m still looking forward to reading his other works but just hoping they’re not similar to this one.

cazzduggan's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

natasha29singh's review against another edition

4.0

Another banger from my god Tanizaki, the very literally titled [b:A Cat, a Man, and Two Women|34468|A Cat, a Man, and Two Women|Jun'ichirō Tanizaki|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328029685l/34468._SY75_.jpg|2470777] delivers a short, sweet story about our three characters, caught in conflict over a cat. One is a cat(girl) enthusiast, and the other two his current and ex-wife repulsed by his creepy attachment to the animal. It sketches this drama so, so beautifully, with that narration of each character’s inner monologue and motives that is so peculiarly Tanizaki. I loved it. I wish Tanizaki was alive so we could laugh at the concept of petstagrams together.

zeynepokuyor's review against another edition

3.0

İKİ NOKTAM VAR
1)okuma yazmaya yeni başlayan bi insana verilebilecek kadar sade

2)elinle iıeeğeğe yaparak anlattığın o kitap BU KİTAP

biliyorum ayıp ettiğimi, ama ifade özgürlüğü?