Fudoki

A delicious story of a cat-turned-human--with the matter of fact sensibility of circumstance proper for tales where gods toy with hapless mortals--dotted along the way with writer's notes from the fictional weaver of the tale: how she knows what she knows and why she imagines the rest. Impeccably composed; in a word, fabulous. All through, I was riveted--both to the fantasy and to the tale of the teller. Fudoki drew me in with the promise of a unique animal transformation fantasy, held me tight with richly sensuous descriptions--colored through the eyes of its feline hero and flavored with the worldview of the princess who created her--and nourished me with an understanding for the book's strange and distant setting. I yearn for more fiction from Kij Johnson.

"Fudoki" in Japanese literally means "description of natural features" - an ancient record created in feudal Japan of the culture, topography and folklore of a particular place. However, the word has far more meaning for the character of the story-within-a-story told in Kij Johnson's novel of the same name. Kagaya-hime is a black tortoiseshell cat who has lost her family and extended clan in a fire. They and their predecessors were part of Kagaya-hime's "fudoki" - a cat's hearth and home, soul and line of succession. In her search to find a new place where she belongs, Kagaya-hime travels along the Tokaido - one of the ancient routes connecting Edo and Kyoto - and is watched by the spirit of the road, a kami. The kami decides to test the cat on her journey by changing her into a beautiful woman... albeit a woman whose behavior and words are those of a cat. The cat's tale is being told by the elderly Princess Harueme, who feels compelled to fill the pages of a notebook with a story before she goes to spend her final years in solitude and religious contemplation at a Buddhist convent. The novel deftly weaves back and forth between the tale of Kagaya-hime and Harueme's own story, which is sometimes peppered in as commentary to the cat's story. The princess readily admits to being jealous of her own creation, who is free to experience both pain and the freedom to roam which are denied to a member of the royal court. Harueme cannot help but share some of the joy and pain that she has experienced during her long years. Just like her previous novel "The Fox Woman," Johnson has taken the world of Heian-era Japan and imbued it with a fresh take on some of the Japanese mythology which originated during that period. As other reviewers have noted, Johnson is one of those rare Western authors who is able not only to successfully spin a tale using characters and themes from the East, but also effectively utilize an Asian storytelling style in the English language. Her prose is quite delicately crafted and her descriptions of the people and places of long-ago Japan are very richly detailed. I highly recommend this book, and am very much looking forward to the final installment of Johnson's Heian trilogy.

There's a saying that I can't remember at the moment, something about painting a picture with words. I wasn't really aware until I read this book that it was possible to paint an entire world with them - that's the way this book comes across to me, as broad strokes on rough canvas. Fudoki takes place in Japan round about 1000AD-ish, and the story is that of a princess, Harueme, who is nearing the end of her life. She, in turn, is telling a story about a cat, and the book takes us through both her own and her character's tale, weaving back and forth between them at Harueme's whim. I'm glad I bought this book, because I knew even half way through reading it that I would want to re-read it in the future - so much is touched on in the story. I think it will be well worth going through it again, knowing the characters better right from the get-go. There are some great themes, and they're touched on in so many different ways: death, freedom, strength, and how they all intertwine. This is one of those stories that I didn't want to end - I kept checking to see how many pages I had left - but am glad it did where it did. Open-ended, and yet extremely satisfying.

No one captures the essence of a period and a setting better than Kij Johnson. This exquisite book will charm you right through to the end, and the old Princess will haunt your memories! I loved it.

Writing in the Japanese tradition is a difficult challenge for Westerners. I thought Fox Woman had promise, but tripped me up in some aspects; this book shows the promise fulfilled.Johnson writes with lyrical grace, as if she has distilled the style and it flows effortlessly. The story is intensely poignant yet earthy and entertaining, the idea of the fudoki magnificently realized.I really look forward to this author's future work; it's worth buying in hardcover.