I received this book in a Books & Bloggers swap from my fellow cat-loving friend Jo, who raved about the feline narrator as being one of her new favorite main characters. I had it on my wish list from the moment I saw her review, and squealed with delight when I unboxed it. The edition is beautiful, with great page quality and flaps. Luckily, the content was just as wonderful. This story is translated from Greek by Konstantine Matsoukas. Occasionally the structure felt a bit unusual, but that could have been due to the cat narrator as opposed to that it was a translated work. The language was clever and I really enjoyed the writing.
We follow Zach Sugar, a white kitten with one green and one blue eye who is on his seventh and final life. Yes, our feline narrator confirms that cats do have multiple lives. We open with his discussion on the disgusting nature and morals of his feline mother, and hear of his plans to leave the shrub he is hiding under and procure a human owner to better his position in life. He has chosen a woman referred to as "Damsel" who is attending an outdoor party. Yes, reader. Cats choose their owners, not vice versa. We learn many cat truths and get various myths debunked along the way. In addition to nuggets of wisdom, the story focuses on Zach's insistence to form a relationship with this lady who is not a cat person, and is very independent and reserved to boot.
The snarky feline narrator reminded me of the cat protagonist from Lynne Truss's Cat Out of Hell novel. Luckily, while that one fell a bit flat, this one was an improvement in that it simply told the ups and downs of a human/cat relationship, and didn't muddle itself with a weird mystery. Both books do confirm that my cat is inwardly laughing at my obsessive/fawning behavior, particularly in my constant efforts to appease her. Apparently I need to play hard to get. This book is further proof that cats are complex, observant, opinionated, and generally great for most bookish people. I laughed at Zach's plaintive speech on how his mistress obviously didn't get the memo that cats are a writer's muse.
There are chuckle-worthy twisted logic statements that have surprising truth. "I urgently need to become less of a cat. I need to let the dog in me out so she'll love me like I was human." (pg. 88). Another fantastic quote "Besides, we are all a little boring at our happiest. Like advertisements of ourselves." (pg. 87). The chapter headings are funny and often poetic, and I loved the "Meow Rules" sprinkled throughout. There are even a few pencil drawings included in various chapters.
There is some sadness, which I was anticipating. I appreciated that it came in the expected manner and in a more abrupt fashion. I can't take the long, drawn-out stuff, especially when I read about animals and children. Big wimp here. At it's heart, this novel talks about the powerful impact of the human and cat interaction- their power struggles, emotions, and bonds with each other. If you like cats, please read! If not, there's not much else in this story for you- but I hope you'll read it to see how magnificent these creatures are, and why I love them so much. Plus it's short, so what do you have to lose really? :-)
