When I abandoned a cat

[Marco]

Hello,

In Italy they just released an illustrated book about a Murakami's story that is about when him with his father went to a beach with the intention of abandoning a cat.
It seems that it is not available in English but the title could be wrong. I just translated in English the title the publisher gave to it in Italian.
Does anyone knows about this story?
Kind regards,
Marco

[sofiazee]

I'm not sure whether there is an English version available. I have the traditional Chinese version with illustration. Here's the Mandarin version: 棄貓：關於父親，我想說的事. The title is loosely translated to Abandoning a Cat: Things I Want to Tell You About My Father.

It's actually a memoir about HM's father as a person, growing up in a tumultous time in Japan. He started off with the incident of abandoning a cat by the beach with his father. HM wasn't close to his father, and so this book served as a way for him to get to know his father better.

[Patrick]

An English translation was published in the New Yorker: Abandoning a Cat: Memories of my Father. I haven't checked if it's an abridged version or a full translation of the original essay (猫を棄てる　父親について語るとき), although it might well be a full translation, seeing as the essay in Japanese was first published in a literary magazine in Japan.