A lovely book, irresistible to cat lovers.

In 60 small chapters, the author "explains" a number of typical cat features and quirks. It starts with the author and her husband --conveniently called Husband-- getting a cat, called Cat. Or as any cat lover knows, it is actually Cat who acquires Author and Husband. Later on, a second kitten --Kitten-- completes the family.

Each chapter also contains one small drawing of Cat that basically tries to catch the content of that particular chapter, usually in a very successful way. The images are simple, cute, spot on and sometimes very funny. Likewise, the author shows a great sense of humour in the way she describes certain situations that regularly put a smile on my face. When reading about Cat being buff and engaged in extreme sports like parkour, and at the same time seeing the image of Cat that goes with it, to give just one example, you know that you have something precious in your hands, a book to read, to re-read and to cherish.

Yu Yoyo mixes sharp observation with vivid imagination and as such comes up with explanations for typical cat behaviour (like for instance why cats purr, or the true nature of hairballs) that you never have read in any other cat book before.

Throw out every serious and scientific book about cats you own and read this one instead.

(Thank you NetGalley and publisher for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.)

I liked thid novel.
I am not a cat lover, and so some of it was beyond me.
The novel appears to take the form of dreams, fantasies, wishes, experiences, longings and folklore all wrapped together.

I read a few chapters at a time and marvelled at the sound of the words that the author used, and either dreamt along with her or let that chapter go.

Cat lovers of all ages and types will probably love this book.

The book is worth reading for some of the ideas, and the way that the words are arranged.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Invisible Kitties, the debut novel by Chinese poet Yu Yoyo, translated by Jeremy Tiang, is a charming and whimsical tale that will captivate cat lovers. The story revolves around a young couple whose quiet life is upended by the arrival of a newly adopted kitten. Yu Yoyo masterfully captures the delightful magic of cats—their mystery, playfulness, and the subtle ways they transform everyday moments. With its poetic prose and affectionate portrayal of feline charm, this book is a must-read for anyone who adores cats and appreciates the quiet beauty they bring to life.

I love pets. I love when people write about their pets. When I requested this, the blurb suggested this was a story about two humans who embrace guardianship of a cat. When I started reading, I became apparent it wasn’t quite that; instead, it was setting up to be more of a gentle, reflective love letter from the author to their cat. It is in some places. But, mostly, this is the literary equivalent of being cornered by someone who obsesses and overanalyzes everything their pet does while anthropomorphizing and revering them to their point that you’re worried about their wellbeing.

The presentation is beautiful: little paw prints on the pages, hand drawn cats, font styles. But, as I read, I found myself questioning if this works as a published work. Some entries are sweet but many feel cloyingly intimate and private. While I appreciate the author’s deep observation to create 50+ metaphors around every single thing her cat did, this doesn’t make for very interesting or coherent reading. The vignettes are heavily metaphorical (which my literal brain struggles with), repetitive, and injected with heaps of purple prose. This creates a meandering book that becomes a slog as it goes on.

Some of the sections are kinda hard to take: revering discarded cat claws as moons, blowing a the cat’s tail to “inflate” him then pulling it to “deflate” him, a whole chapter waxing lyrical about his testicles and hairballs… parts were embarrassing, others gross or downright bizarre.
Speaking of gross, the way the author describes their house sounds makes it sound filthy!

When I read the author’s note at the end and learned they were a poet/artist, the stylistic choices made a bit more sense to me. The book is tagged as ‘sci-fi’ on NetGalley which doesn’t fit - while it has scientific verbiage in places, it’s not a sci-fi book. I’m not sure it’ll appeal to the ‘cat fiction’ or pet memoir folks due to the inaccessible writing style. It might fare better in a poetry section.

I was privileged to have my request to read this book accepted through NetGalley. Thanks for letting me give this a try, Fourth Estate.

as a cat person, i relate to this!!
the writing was very fancy. like it took me a while to understand that this was a tale of a couple living with a cat written in a very fanciful way! 😺

thanks to netgalley and publisher for the copy!