遺失了一隻貓

by Jimmy Liao, 幾米

和他分手的那天傍晚，
她的貓咪不見了……
幾米這本以貓為圖畫主題的書，訴說的是一個都會女子的失戀心情。恍惚、惆悵、尋找、失落……，在他詩意的筆下，這些情緒像溫暖的潮水，緩慢卻氣勢懾人地襲來。城市中的孤單和徬徨，幾米總是看的透徹。這會兒他進入一個同時失去戀人和寵物的女子心靈，把那種淡淡的哀傷刻畫極深。
「貓咪哪裡去了？」路燈上、樹影中……，是又不是。
每一幅圖畫中可愛的貓咪，都藏著故事。
幾米這本以貓為主角的短篇小品，單純動人，在他的作品中極具特殊性。傳達了對貓的深刻愛戀，也傾訴了一個你我都熟悉的故事。

80 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2004

About the author

Jimmy Liao (pen name: 幾米；autonym: Lao Fu-Bin, 廖福彬) born in Yilan County, Taiwan. in Fine Arts, with a major in Design. He had worked in advertising companies for 12 years. Now he works as an illustrator. Since 1998, Jimmy published several illustrated books with amazing originality and multi-faceted narratives. He had since set a fashion in creating and publishing illustrated books in local and international markets. Utilizing images as a refreshing form of literary language, Jimmy creates in his works poetic frames that emit charms and appeals. He has published seventeenth popular books so far, and they are translated into English, French, German, Greek, Japanese, Korean and so forth. Being the most popular illustrator author in Asia, creating lots of fantasy and touch hearts cross all generation, however, with low profile personality, he enjoys the family time more, lives a tranquil life and devotes most of his time to work. Immersing in his works is just like to go into Jimmy's inner world, his inviting stories reflect the reality of real life, more and more people are intoxicated by his vivid strokes and his magic realism narratives. Now in Asia, Jimmy becomes vogue of the time, beyond his stories, "Jimmy" is like a pop of a new life style.

from: http://www.jimmyspa.com/en/

Reviews

[mimo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy reading books by 几米.* The words are simple yet full of meaning, while the illustrations accompanying them quietly add to the story and atmosphere. Here, for instance, the text follows the woman while the pictures depict her cat. Both are exploring the city and making new friends. When the cat finally finds its way home to her, the woman has ridden out the temporary upheaval in her life (caused by the loss of her relationship and her pet) and become more comfortable with who she is and can be.

I backspaced and tweaked that sentence many times. It still feels clunky. I think that's the charm of these tales for me - so much goes so elegantly unsaid.

*I can read Chinese much more fluently than I can write in it, hence the review in English.

[Gabriela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pensé que iba a ser algo tierno, pero fue triste y bastante.

Y el libro y las ilustraciones están preciosas, así que valió la pena el dinero gastado (que fue harto).

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este libro me cautivó completamente, lo empecé a leer por las ilustraciones coloridas y muy detalladas de gatitos en todo tipo de situaciones, pero la historia me impresionó mucho, es una reflexión inusualmente profunda y un poco oscura sobre la depresión para tratarse de un libro ilustrado. Es fascinante, lo recomiendo.

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

Primer libro del año y va sobre lo que hay en mis tripas.

[becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Desaparece el gato del narrador. Trata la crudeza del duelo por una mascota, todo el dolor y la extraña esperanza inconsciente de que vuelva a estar a nuestro lado.

[Gisse · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Adelaida · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

[Madteapartier · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't read this book per se, because I cannot read Mandarin, but I own it & love the illustrations.

[Jennifer B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations, and I liked the prose as well. All cat lovers would love this.