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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
After disastrously failing to finish a couple of other Pratchett books (it's the rampant misogyny for me), I did still want to give him another go this year.
("He's so well-loved!", the internal monologue said, "What if the [earlier/later] books are much better?" etc.)
"Finally", I thought, with giddy anticipation. Is this the one for me? Pratchett talking about cats, and cats alone! Not a woman in sight!
No 80s straw-girls who can Have it All because they have the common sense to Just Get It Together And Be Like Men (but who are still, naturally, eternal babysitters for their male relatives. Because, um... biology... or something).
This could be it. Maybe my eyes will finally be opened to his "immaculately written, wildly imaginative brand"(Telegraph) and I will see at long last that Terry Pratchett has, in fact, "declared war on social injustice" (Guardian) ... wait, did I read that right?
+2 stars for the bit where he accused dogs of being "dribbling morons" (a Schrödinger's line which seemed to have whirled through the space-time vortex directly from a 2019 tumblr post)
-3 stars for somehow managing to degrade sex workers AND make r*pe jokes IN A LIGHTHEARTED BOOK ABOUT DOMESTIC CATS
Honestly, it felt like the book equivalent of that one uncle who seems to be labouring under the misapprehension that "Custard with your Christmas pudding, Harold?" is the divine cosmic cue for his Annual Diatribe on the Questionable Morality of Women.
***
(A sharp whisper- "Terry, love, she was only asking after the cats. Do you think it might be time to go home?")
("He's so well-loved!", the internal monologue said, "What if the [earlier/later] books are much better?" etc.)
"Finally", I thought, with giddy anticipation. Is this the one for me? Pratchett talking about cats, and cats alone! Not a woman in sight!
No 80s straw-girls who can Have it All because they have the common sense to Just Get It Together And Be Like Men (but who are still, naturally, eternal babysitters for their male relatives. Because, um... biology... or something).
This could be it. Maybe my eyes will finally be opened to his "immaculately written, wildly imaginative brand"(Telegraph) and I will see at long last that Terry Pratchett has, in fact, "declared war on social injustice" (Guardian) ... wait, did I read that right?
+2 stars for the bit where he accused dogs of being "dribbling morons" (a Schrödinger's line which seemed to have whirled through the space-time vortex directly from a 2019 tumblr post)
-3 stars for somehow managing to degrade sex workers AND make r*pe jokes IN A LIGHTHEARTED BOOK ABOUT DOMESTIC CATS
Honestly, it felt like the book equivalent of that one uncle who seems to be labouring under the misapprehension that "Custard with your Christmas pudding, Harold?" is the divine cosmic cue for his Annual Diatribe on the Questionable Morality of Women.
***
(A sharp whisper- "Terry, love, she was only asking after the cats. Do you think it might be time to go home?")
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It is a commonly known fact among those that travel to the Disc that Death likes cats.
Honestly, the quickest way to get Death angry is to be mean to a cat.
Somehow this doesn't make losing a beloved cat any eaiser, but reading this book sure did make me laugh (and made me feel a little better. Pratchett is very good at that).
Pratchett, aided by some wonderful cartoons by Gray Jolliffe, presents a case for real cats. Not frou-frou cats, but real cats. You know, smelly ones, ugly ones, ones that would eat dogs if they were bigger.
(But dogs are better. They really are. They wag tails. They keep you warm at night. Cats just try to push you off the bed. And why, since I'm pausing, are dog people more friendly to other animals than cat people? I, and other dog people, will take in stray cats. But you never, ever hear of a cat person taking in a stray dog.)
As I am writing this, I share a house with two real cats and a nice scruffy dog who wants to drag to India. Just over a week ago, it was three cats and one dog.
All three cats were/are real cats.
(The dog is a real dog too).
It's true that my real cats do not have the run of a garden like Pratchett's cats seem to. I don't let them out tomurder, kill play with cute little birds and mice. Unlike some people, I live on a trolley route and I have seen what trollies can do to cats. It ain't pretty. There is also the BIG ENTIRE TOM who controls the neighborhood and even has people scared of him. He is real cat who mostly likely is also Satan.
But I agree completely with Pratchett. Any cat owner who reads this book will be laughing while shouting, YES, YES EXACTLY.
If you own a frou-frou cat you will be greatly confused. I would advise you to go get a real cat. (Yes, even you Bond villian. BTW, according to Pratchett at Christmas the British celebrate the birth of James Bond. tTHis explains so much).
IN this book, you will witness the tale of the cat and the flypaper. The cat, the owner, and the neighbor's gerbil tower. (Though my friend has this story beat. He came home to find that his three indoor cats had left a dead and bloody bird in the middle of his bed).
Pratchett also details what breeds of cats we might have had if dogs hadn't existed. I take issue with this because I know for a fact that my female cat is a tabby retriever crossed with a pit bull cat.
The cartoons are great and even present a new and hopoefully successful way to pill a cat.
Honestly, the quickest way to get Death angry is to be mean to a cat.
Somehow this doesn't make losing a beloved cat any eaiser, but reading this book sure did make me laugh (and made me feel a little better. Pratchett is very good at that).
Pratchett, aided by some wonderful cartoons by Gray Jolliffe, presents a case for real cats. Not frou-frou cats, but real cats. You know, smelly ones, ugly ones, ones that would eat dogs if they were bigger.
(But dogs are better. They really are. They wag tails. They keep you warm at night. Cats just try to push you off the bed. And why, since I'm pausing, are dog people more friendly to other animals than cat people? I, and other dog people, will take in stray cats. But you never, ever hear of a cat person taking in a stray dog.)
As I am writing this, I share a house with two real cats and a nice scruffy dog who wants to drag to India. Just over a week ago, it was three cats and one dog.
All three cats were/are real cats.
(The dog is a real dog too).
It's true that my real cats do not have the run of a garden like Pratchett's cats seem to. I don't let them out to
But I agree completely with Pratchett. Any cat owner who reads this book will be laughing while shouting, YES, YES EXACTLY.
If you own a frou-frou cat you will be greatly confused. I would advise you to go get a real cat. (Yes, even you Bond villian. BTW, according to Pratchett at Christmas the British celebrate the birth of James Bond. tTHis explains so much).
IN this book, you will witness the tale of the cat and the flypaper. The cat, the owner, and the neighbor's gerbil tower. (Though my friend has this story beat. He came home to find that his three indoor cats had left a dead and bloody bird in the middle of his bed).
Pratchett also details what breeds of cats we might have had if dogs hadn't existed. I take issue with this because I know for a fact that my female cat is a tabby retriever crossed with a pit bull cat.
The cartoons are great and even present a new and hopoefully successful way to pill a cat.
Letos s hodnocením asi nějak přitvrzuji. Rozhodně jsem se párkrát zasmála, ale asi bych se k yomi nevracela, ani nechtěla v knihovně. Je pravda, že mimo Zeměplochu mě zatím Pratchett neoslovil snad ničím.
I laughed so hard while reading this, and I don't even have a cat (I've got plenty of friends who are owned by their cats, though.)
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Only Terry pratchett could make me laugh via a book about an animal I’ve never owned
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
3.5! Rounding up because sir Pratchett never fails to charm. This was a silly little book that I picked up to read to pass some time at work. No regrets. (Though I feel a little sorry for the dogs in this book, woof.)
funny
Весела, лека и приятна за четене:) Преводът на Комата никога не разочарова и въпреки, че оригиналът е от '89, котките си остават все същите до днес. Хи-хи-хи;)