Comments on In Spring it is the Dawn: 'I Am a Cat' Volume One (JLit Read-along)

Michelle - I got behind in my own reading of volum...

2010-01-08T00:21:42.268+09:00

Michelle - I got behind in my own reading of volume 2 so no worries about being a bit late. You can join in any time.

I like the sound of your edition much better. I really do find the 'English' names annoying in this one. I can't seem to find any older versions readily available though, which is too bad, so I'll have to make due.

I hope you enjoy the rest of it!

I've only just finished the first volume, so I'm s...

2009-12-17T20:20:17.259+09:00

I've only just finished the first volume, so I'm slightly late into the read-along.

It's interesting to note how this edition of I Am A Cat has translated most of the names of the characters and food items from the original Japanese into English, as is noted on Mee's blog post. The edition I'm reading is an earlier translation, and not only are the names kept in the original Japanese, they come with footnotes to explain, for example, what mochi and zoni are.

As for how the story is going, I'm still rather unsure of where the general direction is. It feels like it's gliding and flowing smoothly, just following whatever current is prevalent. It does feel very much like the old time Japanese dramas or movies that I watched when I was little, where every character seems to be content with just sitting around and chatting.

I'm looking forward to reading the second volume soon. =)

Mee - No worries. I'm glad you're reading along. ...

2009-12-16T02:38:46.988+09:00

Mee - No worries. I'm glad you're reading along. Thanks for the link to your post, I've added it above.

I'm late, but here's my post for the first volume ...

2009-12-15T20:09:31.167+09:00

I'm late, but here's my post for the first volume :)

claire - My reading has slowed down quite a bit th...

2009-11-18T01:14:35.093+09:00

claire - My reading has slowed down quite a bit the last couple of months too so I understand. If you do get a chance to read it though, we'd love to hear your thoughts. Our schedule is vol. 2 next month and vol. 3 in January but you can join in anytime after that as well.
And yes, do avoid the introduction until after you've read the book.

Terri - Thanks for joining in and answering some of the questions on your blog. I really enjoyed reading your thoughts on the book so far.

Claire (Paperback Reader) - Thanks for the link to your post.
They really are quite heartless in describing Mrs Conk! I agree that it's very readable, more so than I thought it would be actually.

I usually don't read introductions beforehand either, but it seemed so short, I don't know why I thought it would be ok and started there. Oh well. I will definitely be more careful next time.

I'm glad you find the cultural information useful. I wasn't sure as it was making the post rather long, but thought others might get something out of the things I looked up for myself, and those things that I know about from living here. It certainly made me read the text more closely, which is a good thing.

Gnoe - I know! As soon as I read that sentence in...

2009-11-18T00:39:36.787+09:00

Gnoe - I know! As soon as I read that sentence in the introduction about the ending, I so wished I could go back in time or erase that information from my head. Sigh.
Thanks for posting about volume one on your blog. I look forward to hearing more of your thoughts as we go along.

mee - Sounds good. I hope your copy arrives soon. And feel free to come back to this post once you've read volume one if you'd like to compare thoughts.

Diana - You're welcome, I'm glad you found the info useful. I chuckled quite a bit in reading this first part too.

As for the relationship of the schoolteacher and his wife, I actually thought it sounded pretty 'normal', for Japan anyway. At that time, at the beginning of the 1900s, men and women's roles would have been quite divided. Still are, in some ways. The man was the Master of the house and not expected to do anything in it, whereas the woman's duty was to take care of the running of the house and everyone in it. The wife's "place" was to be nearby to anticipate the needs of the guests, but they all probably would've thought it strange if she'd stayed in the room to converse with them. It's rather a gross generalization but I think that women were rather seen than heard, and not expected to have their own opinions.

However, since traditional Japanese houses were made of wood, with sliding paper doors, it would be pretty easy to hear what was going on in the next room.
Maybe her laughing at their topics, and them, is meant to be the reader's viewpoint as well. We're not supposed to take them seriously?

As for her complaining about him to his friends, I took that as her just letting off a bit of her frustration? He is a pretty quirky character, after all.
Plus, arranged marriages would still have been the norm. So who knows how much she had, or hadn't, grown to love him. ;)

Hi Nat, here's my post on the first part: http://p...

2009-11-17T20:08:10.507+09:00

Hi Nat, here's my post on the first part: http://paperbackreader2.blogspot.com/2009/11/i-am-cat-vol1.html

Like others I am finding it difficult to discern what is being satirised as yet but I am enjoying the witty and scathing observations, especially regarding Madam Conk. I think it is very readable and I like the anecdotal tall tales and proverbs, even if their messages are somewhat lost on me.

The taka-diastase amused me as I instantly saw "distaste".

I luckily didn't read the Introduction; I never do until after I read a book as I have been caught out in the past.

In my head (as mentioned in my post), I am calling the cat, Neko.

I am enjoying this and look forward to the following volumes.

Thank you so much for the historical and cultural details - they really help!

I just posted my answers to your questions. What a...

2009-11-17T04:41:20.594+09:00

I just posted my answers to your questions. What a delightful book! I appreciate the background information and links you've provided and can't wait to have a few minutes to go dig into those.

I'm a little frustrated that I haven't begun the b...

2009-11-17T03:10:49.533+09:00

I'm a little frustrated that I haven't begun the book. My reading has dropped way considerably and I'm so behind my planned reading schedule that I'm not even sure I'll be able to read this now in time. The books that I was supposed to have finished by the end of October are still sitting on my TBR! And towards the holidays, it's getting even busier around here. But anyway, I will be following everyone's progress still. And hopefully next year be able to pick it up (maybe). Thanks for the tip about the introduction. Will definitely keep that in mind!

Thank you so much for all this information, I just...

2009-11-16T19:52:29.612+09:00

Thank you so much for all this information, I just finished reading the first part, often I've had a very good laugh, some parts are really funny. But as I don't know much about Japan in that period, especially domestic life, it's sometimes difficult to fully appreciate if the text is satirical or not. I wonder about man/woman relations in that period, I think at the wife of the teacher laughing in an other room and complaining about her husband to his friends. It seems odd, but what do you think ?

Great information tanabata. Thank you. I'm a bit l...

2009-11-16T07:01:10.276+09:00

Great information tanabata. Thank you. I'm a bit late. I'm still waiting for my copy to arrive. But I'm sure I can catch up before next month milestone :)

I don't have time for discussion or answering your...

2009-11-16T05:22:57.315+09:00

I don't have time for discussion or answering your questions right now, but I wanted to say that like you, tanabata, I regret having read the introduction first! :( Like I mentioned in my post about part 1 of I Am a Cat. So I am not going to read the author's notes of The Old Capital until I have finished the book.

I will get back to the discussion thread another day!