{"id":614,"date":"2025-01-15T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-15T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/?p=614"},"modified":"2025-09-13T14:40:30","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T06:40:30","slug":"cat5cats_2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/2025\/01\/15\/cat5cats_2025\/","title":{"rendered":"The courage and con\u00adfi\u00addence to embrace a flawed life"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2014\u2014Book Review of \u201cThe Cat and Five Cats\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Emerg\u00ading pic\u00adture book cre\u00adator Yuwan always has a way of mak\u00ading things shine. Fol\u00adlow\u00ading her 2022 book, \u201cMole Jas\u00admine,\u201d a com\u00adbi\u00adna\u00adtion of hand\u00adcraft and pho\u00adtog\u00adra\u00adphy, she has now used a hand-drawn, almost graf\u00adfi\u00adti-like style to cre\u00adate a seem\u00ading\u00adly casu\u00adal and light\u00adheart\u00aded, yet pro\u00adfound and thought-pro\u00advok\u00ading sto\u00adry. \u201cThe Cat and the Five Cats\u201d con\u00adtin\u00adues her del\u00adi\u00adcate and warm style, with a more relaxed and live\u00adly visu\u00adal lan\u00adguage, rich\u00ader emo\u00adtions, and a rich\u00ader range of poten\u00adtial asso\u00adci\u00ada\u00adtions, res\u00adonat\u00ading with both chil\u00addren and adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

If the cre\u00adative approach of \u201cMole Jas\u00admine\u201d was some\u00adwhat influ\u00adenced by the work of Kore\u00adan pic\u00adture book artist Baek Heena, then \u201cCat and Five Cats\u201d may be clos\u00ader to Yuwan\u2019s true style. Frankly, that \u201chand\u00admade + pho\u00adtog\u00adra\u00adphy\u201d approach is quite gru\u00adel\u00ading. The cre\u00adator feels like she\u2019s writ\u00ading, direct\u00ading, act\u00ading, film\u00ading, and edit\u00ading a clay fig\u00adurine ani\u00adma\u00adtion her\u00adself, not to men\u00adtion hav\u00ading to learn many of the rel\u00ade\u00advant skills her\u00adself. But I believe it\u2019s also a great self-devel\u00adop\u00adment tuto\u00adr\u00adi\u00adal for young cre\u00adators. This new work demon\u00adstrates that Yuwan has mas\u00adtered this art of graph\u00adic sto\u00adry\u00adtelling, sim\u00adpli\u00adfy\u00ading com\u00adplex con\u00adtent while telling a clear\u00ader sto\u00adry. Through min\u00adi\u00admal\u00adist lines and col\u00adors, she draws the read\u00ader into the sto\u00adry and evokes the flow of emo\u00adtion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sto\u00adry begins with the dust jack\u00adet and cov\u00ader illus\u00adtra\u00adtion. A vibrant red dom\u00adi\u00adnates the paint\u00ading, con\u00advey\u00ading a warm and vibrant feel\u00ading and cap\u00adtur\u00ading the read\u00ader\u2019s atten\u00adtion. The cen\u00adtral black and white illus\u00adtra\u00adtion con\u00adtrasts sharply with the red back\u00adground, cre\u00adat\u00ading a sim\u00adple yet intrigu\u00ading scene. The pro\u00adtag\u00ado\u00adnist, the cat, with a slight\u00adly con\u00adfused or melan\u00adcholic expres\u00adsion, looks off to one side (per\u00adhaps toward the back cov\u00ader), cre\u00adat\u00ading a stark con\u00adtrast with the relaxed and live\u00adly demeanor of the oth\u00ader five cats. Each cat has a unique appear\u00adance and expres\u00adsion, with dis\u00adtinct per\u00adson\u00adal\u00adi\u00adties, yet the seem\u00ading\u00adly non\u00adsen\u00adsi\u00adcal dis\u00adtinc\u00adtion between \u201cThe Cat and the Five Cats\u201d invites spec\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion. In the cen\u00adter-upper por\u00adtion of the back cov\u00ader (the most promi\u00adnent posi\u00adtion in the paint\u00ading), a vibrant red fox appears, direct\u00adly echo\u00ading the red maple leaf in the pro\u00adtag\u00ado\u00adnist\u2019s hand. The cov\u00ader illus\u00adtra\u00adtion then fea\u00adtures only the pro\u00adtag\u00ado\u00adnist, the cat. Turn\u00ading to the front end\u00adpa\u00adpers, a vibrant palette of col\u00adors seems to push the read\u00ader to the extreme. But then, turn\u00ading to the title page, only the five cats appear, with a few sim\u00adple touch\u00ades of brown on a white back\u00adground. Only a sin\u00adgle red maple leaf remains on the ded\u00adi\u00adca\u00adtion page, high\u00adlight\u00ading the author\u2019s pro\u00adfound grat\u00adi\u00adtude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through\u00adout the sto\u00adry, Yuwan plays with the shift\u00ading col\u00adors, the sim\u00adple shapes and move\u00adments of the cat and the five cats, and the con\u00adnec\u00adtions between them, allow\u00ading the read\u00ader to unrav\u00adel a deeply mov\u00ading tale. The sto\u00adry itself is sim\u00adple: the pro\u00adtag\u00ado\u00adnist, the cat, yearns for and pur\u00adsues the fox, ulti\u00admate\u00adly end\u00ading in rejec\u00adtion. While seem\u00ading\u00adly sim\u00adple, it touch\u00ades upon uni\u00adver\u00adsal and pro\u00adfound emotions\u2014the per\u00adsis\u00adtence of unat\u00adtain\u00adable goals, the inabil\u00adi\u00adty to rec\u00adon\u00adcile loss, and the process of rebuild\u00ading one\u00adself from pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an adult, I ini\u00adtial\u00adly read a sto\u00adry of an unsuc\u00adcess\u00adful love affair. The cat\u2019s sit\u00adu\u00ada\u00adtion remind\u00aded me of the croc\u00ado\u00addile in \u201cThe Croc\u00ado\u00addile Loves the Giraffe.\u201d In that sto\u00adry, the giraffe and croc\u00ado\u00addile also seemed mis\u00admatched, yet through hard work, they came togeth\u00ader, even start\u00ading a fam\u00adi\u00adly and pro\u00adcre\u00adat\u00ading. How\u00adev\u00ader, the fox in this sto\u00adry flat\u00adly refused: \u201cYou\u2019re a cat, I\u2019m a fox, we can\u2019t be togeth\u00ader.\u201d In the scene where he uttered these words, the fox prac\u00adti\u00adcal\u00adly filled the entire frame, yet it looked unre\u00adal, as if from a dream. The cat\u2019s sub\u00adse\u00adquent actions in the fol\u00adlow\u00ading pages beau\u00adti\u00adful\u00adly illus\u00adtrate the psy\u00adcho\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal stages of unre\u00adquit\u00aded love and heart\u00adbreak: ini\u00adtial encounter and heart\u00adbeat, long\u00ading and pur\u00adsuit, frus\u00adtra\u00adtion and pain, accep\u00adtance and release, growth and let\u00adting go, and ulti\u00admate\u00adly, the recon\u00adstruc\u00adtion of one\u2019s \u201cself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Near the end of the sto\u00adry, two pas\u00adsages about the pro\u00adtag\u00ado\u00adnist, the cat, struck me as tru\u00adly real and mov\u00ading. While lying in the grass with her friends, \u201cthe cat dis\u00adcov\u00adered that she thought of the fox less and less.\u201d And as time passed, \u201cautumn arrived again, and the cat thought of the fox, but she no longer felt sad when she thought of it.\u201d A care\u00adful read\u00ader will notice that almost anoth\u00ader win\u00adter, spring, sum\u00admer, and autumn have passed since the cat decid\u00aded to \u201clet go.\u201d This is a long process, from loss and lone\u00adli\u00adness to heal\u00ading and regain\u00ading hope. It requires the courage to face life\u2019s imper\u00adfec\u00adtions. This kind of growth is worth\u00adwhile, but ulti\u00admate\u00adly not easy, and requires a grad\u00adual process. I think the author does\u00adn\u2019t delib\u00ader\u00adate\u00adly sim\u00adpli\u00adfy the sto\u00adry sim\u00adply because it\u2019s writ\u00adten for chil\u00addren. Such sin\u00adcer\u00adi\u00adty is admirable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some read\u00aders might ask, since this is a pic\u00adture book for chil\u00addren, is it appro\u00adpri\u00adate to tell a sto\u00adry about unre\u00adquit\u00aded love and heart\u00adbreak? Haha, as I said before, that\u2019s just my ini\u00adtial inter\u00adpre\u00adta\u00adtion as an adult read\u00ader. A clos\u00ader look might reveal many dif\u00adfer\u00adent asso\u00adci\u00ada\u00adtions. In fact, Chi\u00adnese lit\u00ader\u00adary tra\u00addi\u00adtion is replete with exam\u00adples of using love poet\u00adry to metaphor\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly allude to larg\u00ader issues in life. For exam\u00adple, the lines \u201cI seek it but can\u00adnot, toss\u00ading and turn\u00ading\u201d and \u201cThere is a beau\u00adti\u00adful woman, on the oth\u00ader side of the water\u201d from the Book of Songs could be inter\u00adpret\u00aded as a king\u2019s thirst for tal\u00adent. And in his \u201cWords on Human Poet\u00adry,\u201d Wang Guowei used Liu Yong\u2019s love poem, \u201cMy belt is get\u00adting wider, but I nev\u00ader regret it; I am becom\u00ading hag\u00adgard for her\u201d as a metaphor for the greater realm of life, a top\u00adic that has been wide\u00adly dis\u00adcussed. Yuwan specif\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly wrote in his cre\u00adative notes that the fox is a \u201cpoet\u00adic metaphor,\u201d rep\u00adre\u00adsent\u00ading \u201cunreach\u00adable things, yet also the embod\u00adi\u00adment of ideals.\u201d This is also a very inter\u00adest\u00ading inter\u00adpre\u00adta\u00adtion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How\u00adev\u00ader, what\u2019s even more inter\u00adest\u00ading is that no mat\u00adter how the author inten\u00adtion\u00adal\u00adly or unin\u00adten\u00adtion\u00adal\u00adly \u201clim\u00adits\u201d the scope of inter\u00adpre\u00adta\u00adtion, read\u00aders remain com\u00adplete\u00adly free. A seem\u00ading\u00adly sim\u00adple sto\u00adry, pre\u00adcise\u00adly because it leaves ample \u201cwhite space,\u201d offers read\u00aders greater oppor\u00adtu\u00adni\u00adties to draw upon their own read\u00ading and life expe\u00adri\u00adences to con\u00adstruct their own unique nar\u00adra\u00adtive. For exam\u00adple, fans of \u201cThe Lit\u00adtle Prince\u201d will undoubt\u00aded\u00adly recall the fox\u2019s teach\u00ading the lit\u00adtle prince about \u201ctam\u00ading\u201d (or \u201cdomes\u00adti\u00adcat\u00ading\u201d) under the apple tree, which the fox inter\u00adprets as \u201cestab\u00adlish\u00ading a con\u00adnec\u00adtion.\u201d In this sto\u00adry of the cat and the fox, the cat, reject\u00aded by the fox, can\u00adnot leave the tree, but through his obses\u00adsion with the fox, he begins a dia\u00adlogue with his soul. This dia\u00adlogue can encom\u00adpass obses\u00adsion and pur\u00adsuit, or it can reflect the con\u00adflict between real\u00adi\u00adty and ideals. The fox can rep\u00adre\u00adsent an unat\u00adtain\u00adable \u201clofty ide\u00adal,\u201d a \u201cvague inspi\u00adra\u00adtion\u201d in a work, or even a sym\u00adbol of the vir\u00adtu\u00adal world\u2019s \u201chigh\u00adlight\u201d or \u201cper\u00adfect per\u00adsona\u201d in the social media age. When\u00adev\u00ader one falls prey to such obses\u00adsion, one inevitably expe\u00adri\u00adences a sense of loss and empti\u00adness, much like the once utter\u00adly bleak world expe\u00adri\u00adenced by the pro\u00adtag\u00ado\u00adnist, the cat. Only then did the cat real\u00adize the real\u00adi\u00adty of the five cats around it, and in their com\u00adpa\u00adny, it redis\u00adcov\u00adered its true self. This seems to be a reflec\u00adtion of the expe\u00adri\u00adence that when we are alone, it is often not the \u201cdis\u00adtant light\u201d but the \u201cfire near\u00adby\u201d that guides us out of the shad\u00adows. This \u201cfire near\u00adby\u201d is the very foun\u00adda\u00adtion that allows us to embrace our imper\u00adfec\u00adtions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From a child\u2019s per\u00adspec\u00adtive, they can also find res\u00ado\u00adnance in their own life expe\u00adri\u00adences. Chil\u00addren are always curi\u00adous about and eager to meet new peo\u00adple and dis\u00adcov\u00ader new things. Per\u00adhaps the rela\u00adtion\u00adship between the cat and the fox can be seen as a yearn\u00ading for that \u201cspe\u00adcial some\u00adone.\u201d How\u00adev\u00ader, rela\u00adtion\u00adships often lead to fail\u00adure, and the poten\u00adtial for loss and rejec\u00adtion. Feel\u00ading hurt dur\u00ading these expe\u00adri\u00adences is nor\u00admal. It\u2019s through repeat\u00aded set\u00adbacks that we become stronger. Embrac\u00ading life\u2019s imper\u00adfec\u00adtions requires courage and the com\u00adpan\u00adion\u00adship and sup\u00adport of those around us. Young read\u00aders may learn from the cat\u2019s expe\u00adri\u00adence to accept imper\u00adfec\u00adtion, cher\u00adish the sup\u00adport around them, and val\u00adue the joy of the present moment, rather than pin\u00adning hap\u00adpi\u00adness on peo\u00adple and things far away. From this per\u00adspec\u00adtive, this sto\u00adry may be more than just about loss and let\u00adting go, but also a les\u00adson in under\u00adstand\u00ading, growth, and love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her writ\u00ading notes, the author dis\u00adcuss\u00ades how she \u201calways viewed pic\u00adture books as a con\u00adtain\u00ader for stor\u00ading emo\u00adtions and mem\u00ado\u00adries,\u201d and at the end of the sto\u00adry, the pro\u00adtag\u00ado\u00adnist, the cat, does the same: \u201cShe want\u00aded to pass this sto\u00adry on to her friends who had always been by her side.\u201d Inter\u00adest\u00ading\u00adly, this reminds me of the open\u00ading words of Mar\u00adquez\u2019s auto\u00adbi\u00adog\u00adra\u00adphy, Liv\u00ading to Tell: \u201cLife is not what we expe\u00adri\u00adence, but what we remem\u00adber and how we recon\u00adstruct it in our mem\u00ado\u00adries in order to tell it.\u201d From this per\u00adspec\u00adtive, Yuwan is actu\u00adal\u00adly using \u201cMole Mol\u00adly\u201d and \u201cThe Cat and the Five Cats\u201d to retell a part of her youth, and pic\u00adture books are pre\u00adcise\u00adly the way she hap\u00adpi\u00adly choos\u00ades to recon\u00adstruct her life, allow\u00ading her to live the way she wants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m so glad to have read such a beau\u00adti\u00adful and inspir\u00ading sto\u00adry and I hope to read more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Argen\u00adtine Primera Divisi\u00f3n writ\u00adten on Jan\u00adu\u00adary 15, 2025 in Guangzhou<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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