How we love our pets

Translated from Japanese, this little novella has a reserved, distant feel which was disconcerting at first. The story is dealing with highly emotional issues, but the parts written in the cat's voice are very cool and detached. Nana is a stray who is adopted by a young man and then goes on a number of road trips with him, visiting old friends from his past. The writing is beautifully simple and concise and its exploration of the relationships we have with our animals is lovely.