FEBRUARY - STORIES ABOUT CATS

 JUDY DE:  RED LEAD by Roland Perry, The Naval Cat with 9 Lives

In 1942 the renowned cruiser HMAS Perth was sunk by Japanese.  There were 681 men aboard and the ship's cat.  328 men survived and one cat.  Judy said it was a really interesting story.  Judy also read a Lilian Jackson Braun novel.  She did not like it.

PRUE:  THE GUEST CAT by Takashi Hiraide

The author is a poet.  He has written many books of poetry and he lives with a cat.  The story is about a mid 30's couple who are both writers.  They live in a guest house. The descriptions of the guest house are beautiful.  A cat wanders in and out, sharing life with them and their neighbours.  Life suddenly has more promise as they play with the cat.  It's a beautiful gentle story with subtle humour.  It is well written.

CHARIS:

Although Charis did not read a novel about cats she had read some interesting facts about cats.  She told us Turkish people love cats with two different colour eyes.  She also spoke about cats being heraldry symbols in the U.K. The lion is on the British Coat of Arms.

JOAN:  A STREET CAT NAMED BOB by James Bowen

This is the story of the author, London street musician and recovering drug addict.  In 2007 he takes in an injured ginger street cat.  They become inseparable healing each other's pasts.  Joan found it interesting to learn about the life of a busker and the selling of the magazine called the Big Issue

BEV:  THRICE THE BRINDED CAT HATH MEW'D by Alan Bradley

This book is a Flavia De Luce mystery.  The 12 year old Flavia de Luce, after a strange sojourn in Canada, is back in England.  Her father is ill.  Flavia makes a macabre discovery of a corpse of a reclusive woodcarver.  There is also a tortoiseshell cat at the scene.  The local constabulary are perplexed.   Bev enjoyed the book.

JULIA:  GARFIELD by Jim Davis

Julia loves the Garfield comic strip and books.  She told us a some facts about the author, Jim Davis. He is an American cartoonist. When he started, his boss decided comic strips were over saturated with dogs and Jim should do something different.  He decided to do cats and in 1978 Garfield was born.  Jim has won lots of awards for his Garfield cartoons.

CLAURENE:  THE CAT'S TABLE by Michael Ondaatje

 The story is narrated by an 11 year old boy who travels by liner from Colombo to England.  His mother has been in England for four years and he is going over there to finish his education.  He is put on the lowly Cat's Table with two other boys going to school in England, as well as an odd group of other people. The table is the furthest away from the Captain's Table. The three boys get together and act like absolute monsters.  The narrator talks about their lives when they grow up.  Claurene said Ondaatje is a wonderful writer and she would like to read more of his books.

ROSEMARIE:  DALAI LAMA'S CAT by David Michie

 The author was born in Zimbabwe but now lives in Australia.  The story is about the kitten rescued from the slums of Delhi.  The kitten goes to new surroundings in beautiful Himalaya. It is a warm hearted story, reverent and wise.  It has insights to find happiness and meaning and will put a smile on your face.  It is gentle and humorous and has subtle influences.

JUDY A:  THE LEOPARD by Jo Nesbo

Nesbo is a Norwegian writer who has a character named Harry Hole who is a brilliant but troubled detective fighting personal issues of alcohol and depression.  According to the author, Harry is inspired by and a tribute to Michael Connelly's character, Harry Bosch.  This is the 8th book in the series.  He's on the trail of a serial killer.  It was ok but far too long.  Judy had also read another book called The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa.  It is reputed to be one of the finest works of 20th century fiction but it wasn't for Judy.  She said it was tedious and gave up at page 50.

PAT:  BONO by Helen Brown

The author was born in New Zealand but now lives in Melbourne.  This is a memoir of a part of her life.  She had three children who are now grown up.  She had written a book called Cleo and it gave her the opportunity to go the New York.  It was exciting and although she wasn't close to her daughter she came with her mother to New York. While she was there, Helen adopted a cat.  It helped repair the mother/daughter relationship.  The daughter really loved the cat.  Anybody who loves cats will really enjoy this read.

DIANN:  MATTHEW FLINDER'S CAT by Bryce Courtenay

This is the story of a solicitor mentoring a young man.  Diann said it was a very good story.

ED: THE LAST LIONS OF AFRICA by Anthony Ham

The author travels to different areas in Africa as he is very concerned lions are becoming extinct.  He is haunted by the fact that lions might disappear from the planet so he tries to do something to save them.  Ed said the plight of the lions is very sad. There is outrage by the public when an American dentist and hunter murders a much loved lion called Cecil.

CONNIE:  CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE CAT LOVER'S SOUL by Various Authors.

There are different stories about cats.  One that touched Connie was about a ten year old girl who had a cat from a kitten.  It came in for dinner, she played with him and the cat slept on a cushion in the bedroom.  One day he went missing.  She was very sad and put a notice in the local post office with a photograph.  Another girl was putting up a photo of her cat when they realised  it was the same cat and he was leading a double life.  The girls became good friends.  Connie enjoyed it.

JO: THE CAT WHO COULD READ BACKWARDS by Lilian Jackson Braun

It's the story of an investigate journalist who adopts a Siamese cat called Koko who jumps on top of his bookcase.  Jo loves these books.

VAL:  TRIM, THE CARTOGRAPHER'S CAT  -  Matthew Flinders, Philippa Sandall and Gillian Dooley

This book is in two parts.  The first part is a tribute to Trim, the cat.  The second part is a fictional version of various incidents written from the cat's point of view. He swam, he climbed up the rigging and he went overboard.  He was a beautiful cat and quite a character.  He accompanied Matthew Flinders when he circumnavigated Tasmania.  Flinders was meticulous in his map making and charts. When the ship needed repair he pulled in to Mauritius not realising the French were at war with England.  Val said she found out a lot about travelling in that era.

JUDY J:  STREET CAT NAMED BOB by James Bowen

Judy said it was a delightful and incredible story.  The only money James received was from busking.  He was born in London to well-to-do parents.  He moved to Australia with his mother after his parent's divorce.  He had ADHD and he was bullied at school. He went back to England to live with his father.    The stray cat James adopted gained celebrity status.  The Spanish loved the cat.  James is now worth over 2 million pounds.

LESLEY:  WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE by Shirley Jackson (1962)

The story has an idyllic, rural setting in a large, well kept country home near the local village.  It is narrated by Kathleen Blackwood (also called Mericat), an 18 year old who lives in the home with her older sister Constance and a wheelchair bound uncle plus her cat, Jonas. 6 years previously, Mericat's mother, father, aunt and uncle were all poisoned by arsenic in the sugar bowl. Only the uncle survived and is now wheelchair bound. Constance was arrested, tried but found not guilty.  The girls become reclusive as the villagers, believing they poisoned the family, relentlessly persecute them.  Jonas, the cat gives them comfort.  Their cousin Charles comes to stay and tension builds as the dynamics of the family change.  Lesley said the story was well written, short and moves in a timely fashion.  A creeping sense of foreboding develops.  Sinister and disturbing, you aren't quite sure what will happen next, but you know something will.  A good read.

LYN:  JAMES HERRIOT'S TREASURY FOR CHILDREN

One of the stories was about Moses, the kitten. It is snowing and it's freezing when the vet is called out to the farm because of a calving problem.   A tiny black kitten is  found freezing.  The farmer's wife puts it in the oven with the door open.  The farmer and his wife want to keep it.  When the vet calls to the farm again the black kitten is enjoying life in the pigsty with the piglets.  Lyn enjoyed it and said "I guess we never really grow up".

SHEILA:  CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL by Various Authors

She did not really enjoy it.  She said it would be great if you loved cats.

PAMELA:  OLD POSSUM'S BOOK OF PRACTICAL CATS BY T.S.ELIOT, PUB.1939

This is a collection of whimsical light poems about 15 different cats.  Some of them are The Song of the Jellicoes, McCavity, the Mystery Cat and The Ad Dressing of Cats.

KRIS:  THE CAT WHO SMELLED THE RAT by Lilian Jackson Braun

This is a light hearted mystery thriller with a touch of humour.  It features a reporter named Jim Qwilleran and his 2 Siamese cats, KoKo and Yum Yum.  KoKo senses trouble before it happens. It is set in Moose County.  The town is in the middle of a record breaking drought. There have been a number of fires at historic mine sites and Qwilleran thinks it's arson.  Then there is the murder of the local bookseller.  Qwilleran is looking for answers.  It was a light, easy read.

Kris

 

MARCH:              We will be reading Australian Indigenous authors   -   e.g. Tara June Winch,                                   Bruce Pascoe, Melissa Lucashenko, Kim Scott, Tony Birch