Translated by Jeremy Tiang<\/h3>\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/annabookbel.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/reading-the-meow-2025.jpg?resize=282%2C400&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nIt\u2019s great to be able to cover two challenges with one book \u2013 as well as being one of my 20 Books of Summer, Invisible Kitties<\/em> is also for\u00a0Mallika\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0Reading the Meow 2025<\/a>, the third year of her feline reading challenge, and what a super book I picked! <\/p>\nI really had my fingers crossed that his book wouldn\u2019t be twee and over-whimsical given the use of \u2018Kitties\u2019 in the title, and I was so relieved to discover its sub-title \u2018A Feline Study of Fluid Mechanics or The Spurious Incidents of the Cats in the Night-time<\/em>\u2018 \u2013 the fluid mechanics won me over instantly!<\/p>\nIt\u2019s billed as a novel, but is really a series of vignettes about a young couple who find themselves living with a cat, narrated by the wife. It\u2019ll be clear right from the start whether this is a book for you, or not: of course cat lovers are naturally predisposed to read on. The first few or the 60 short chapters \u2013 most are two or three pages \u2013 are very quirky indeed. Thinking about cats, the wife imagines one into being, she christens it Doughball, who remains with them for a while. She and her husband discuss where cats come from \u2013 some are rained into being, others are planted and harvested in the spring. Yes, there are oodles of impressionistic musings in this book, all accompanied by the author\u2019s own illustrations which are quite charming (see the planted kitties below). And then Cat arrives, just pops into being from the air.<\/p>\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/annabookbel.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Planted-kitties.jpg?resize=267%2C200&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nAs she continues, Cat is never named \u2013 just called Cat, the following chapters chronicle a developing relationship with the creature for her and her husband, and musings on all the usual foibles of cat life that owners will be familiar with \u2013 from chasing its own tail to hairballs, from castration (Cat is male) to kneading and a dislike of citrus. And then there are all her imaginings: including how cats shape and drape themselves \u2013 from snakes to springs (with accompanying drawings), and wondering what cats are thinking when just sitting or sleeping and more. Everything about cats is considered. Here are a couple of illustrative quotes:<\/p>\n
\nWhile only some willow and poplar trees produce cat-kins, every single kitty that grows fur also sprouts cat fluff. Strictly speaking, these cat-kins are a natural phenomenon, not manufactured, In spring and autumn, cat-kins come particularly thick and fast, drifting around as if they carry cat seeds and must travel to be propagated farther afield.
Cat-kins look beautiful as they skim through the air. They stay aloft for quite some time, then tire and settle down, or simply come to earth when the air currents have stalled. Sometimes they carelessly allow dust to hitch a ride until too many motes pile on and their combined weight sinks the fur.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\nIt was only when I started living with Cat that I realized: we may only have one moon in the sky, but there are others scattered here on Earth. All over our floor, Cat sheds his claw casings at regular intervals, perfect little translucent crescents, so many I have lost count.
When I press my fingertip to one of them, it sticks and I feel like I\u2019m holding the tiniest moon in the whole world.
These crescents are exquisite and pearlescent, cropping up wherever Cat has been, gleaming from every corner of the flat.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nInvisible Kitties<\/em> was a delightful read for me. Quirky, not over-whimsical and very impressionistic at times, also typically Asian but familar to cat lovers everywhere. The author is also an acclaimed poet and you can see that in the text, artfully translated by Jeremy Tiang. The book did remind me of Muriel Barbery\u2019s novella, The Author\u2019s Cats<\/a><\/em>, which is narrated by one of her three cats, who are equally supportive of an owner that they like. If you liked that, you\u2019ll enjoy Invisible Kitties<\/em>.<\/p>\nSource: Own copy from the TBR. <\/strong> 4th Estate flapped paperback, 2024, 238 pages. <\/p>\nBUY at B<\/a>l<\/a>ackwell\u2019s<\/a><\/strong> via my affiliate link (free UK P&P)<\/p>\n\nLike this:<\/h3>\n
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nIt\u2019s great to be able to cover two challenges with one book \u2013 as well as being one of my 20 Books of Summer, Invisible Kitties<\/em> is also for\u00a0Mallika\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0Reading the Meow 2025<\/a>, the third year of her feline reading challenge, and what a super book I picked! <\/p>\n I really had my fingers crossed that his book wouldn\u2019t be twee and over-whimsical given the use of \u2018Kitties\u2019 in the title, and I was so relieved to discover its sub-title \u2018A Feline Study of Fluid Mechanics or The Spurious Incidents of the Cats in the Night-time<\/em>\u2018 \u2013 the fluid mechanics won me over instantly!<\/p>\n It\u2019s billed as a novel, but is really a series of vignettes about a young couple who find themselves living with a cat, narrated by the wife. It\u2019ll be clear right from the start whether this is a book for you, or not: of course cat lovers are naturally predisposed to read on. The first few or the 60 short chapters \u2013 most are two or three pages \u2013 are very quirky indeed. Thinking about cats, the wife imagines one into being, she christens it Doughball, who remains with them for a while. She and her husband discuss where cats come from \u2013 some are rained into being, others are planted and harvested in the spring. Yes, there are oodles of impressionistic musings in this book, all accompanied by the author\u2019s own illustrations which are quite charming (see the planted kitties below). And then Cat arrives, just pops into being from the air.<\/p>\n As she continues, Cat is never named \u2013 just called Cat, the following chapters chronicle a developing relationship with the creature for her and her husband, and musings on all the usual foibles of cat life that owners will be familiar with \u2013 from chasing its own tail to hairballs, from castration (Cat is male) to kneading and a dislike of citrus. And then there are all her imaginings: including how cats shape and drape themselves \u2013 from snakes to springs (with accompanying drawings), and wondering what cats are thinking when just sitting or sleeping and more. Everything about cats is considered. Here are a couple of illustrative quotes:<\/p>\n While only some willow and poplar trees produce cat-kins, every single kitty that grows fur also sprouts cat fluff. Strictly speaking, these cat-kins are a natural phenomenon, not manufactured, In spring and autumn, cat-kins come particularly thick and fast, drifting around as if they carry cat seeds and must travel to be propagated farther afield. It was only when I started living with Cat that I realized: we may only have one moon in the sky, but there are others scattered here on Earth. All over our floor, Cat sheds his claw casings at regular intervals, perfect little translucent crescents, so many I have lost count. Invisible Kitties<\/em> was a delightful read for me. Quirky, not over-whimsical and very impressionistic at times, also typically Asian but familar to cat lovers everywhere. The author is also an acclaimed poet and you can see that in the text, artfully translated by Jeremy Tiang. The book did remind me of Muriel Barbery\u2019s novella, The Author\u2019s Cats<\/a><\/em>, which is narrated by one of her three cats, who are equally supportive of an owner that they like. If you liked that, you\u2019ll enjoy Invisible Kitties<\/em>.<\/p>\n Source: Own copy from the TBR. <\/strong> 4th Estate flapped paperback, 2024, 238 pages. <\/p>\n BUY at B<\/a>l<\/a>ackwell\u2019s<\/a><\/strong> via my affiliate link (free UK P&P)<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
Cat-kins look beautiful as they skim through the air. They stay aloft for quite some time, then tire and settle down, or simply come to earth when the air currents have stalled. Sometimes they carelessly allow dust to hitch a ride until too many motes pile on and their combined weight sinks the fur.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
When I press my fingertip to one of them, it sticks and I feel like I\u2019m holding the tiniest moon in the whole world.
These crescents are exquisite and pearlescent, cropping up wherever Cat has been, gleaming from every corner of the flat.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nLike this:<\/h3>\n