Another aspect of the book that was initially amusing at least, was the use of very obscure words. Presumably this reflected the delight of those enamoured with all things Western. Rarely have I had to stop to look up so many words, and I think I have command of a reasonably good vocabulary.
Among those which I noted down were:
jobbernowl - a numbskull or nincompoop.
gongoristic drivel - a literary style characterised by studied obscurity and by the use of various ornate devices. (Hmm!)
presbyope - long-sighted (Although the book indicates a few lines along that it is near-sighted. Perhaps a translator's slip.)
franion - an habitual pleasure-seeker or merrymaker; idler, reveler.
At the end of Chapter 3 of Volume II, the cat left Mr Sneaze and his friends "to their endless blather, their carping and flapdoodle" and went out into the garden.
Quote:
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The sun is going down. Its reddened light, filtered through the green foliage of a sultan's parasol, flecks the ground in patches. High up on the trunk of the tree, cicadas are singing their hearts out. Tonight, perhaps, a little rain may fall.
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I really liked that passage, with its appreciation of things as they are, the cat living in the moment. Would that the humans could learn to do the same!