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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
A three week cruise from Sri Lanka to England to be reunited with his mother is the central event in 11 year old Michael's life. The cruise has a motley assortment of characters including a prisoner, a circus troupe, and a dying millionaire. The memories of this cruise follow Michael through his adult life. This was an enjoyable and reflective book. Almost a quasi-memoir. It was personal and emotional.
It's beautiful and yet...so boring. It's the kind of book that makes me skeptical about modern fiction. I've read so many amazing nonfiction books recently, and the shot across the bow from the fiction world is this and "The Tiger's Wife"? Yikes.
This book was somewhere between "ok" and "good", probably a half star rating. It isn't that I didn't enjoy it, but it just seemed to take forever to get into. It was a somewhat interrupted read at the beginning, which was partially my fault and partially the book's fault.... I blame the book partially because it certainly wasn't one that makes you find the time to pick it up. When I read the cover I was really interested - there was so much potential in the characters, but I felt like I really didn't get to the majority of them, just a select few superficially and the narrator. There was a lot of jumping around between the past and future which wasn't done in a distracting way, but I thought really narrowed down the potential outcomes and kind of killed some of the potential suspense. The last two thirds of the book were read during a day of travel, so very little to interrupt me, but again, I didn't feel particularly into the book until probably the last 50 pages.... a little to little, a little too late. I will probably try another of his books and just hope this wasn't his best.
Loved loved loved this book. The reason lies solely with the author; Ondaatje is probably the most romantic person I can think of. I don't mean this in the courtship lovey-dovey type of romance (although he does that well too, just not in this book), rather there is a passion in his stories that romanticizes it. This particular book does not read like a traditional story; rather it is more like a collection of memories. There is an obvious timeline we are following, and it does conclude on a nice note, but reading this I felt almost like I was being let into a very private place of the narrator. We meet characters that are very charming, and the book leaves us wondering, much like the narrator does, what happened to them. There is excitement, there is love, there is loss, and much to keep the reader coming.
I highly recommend anything by Ondaatje, and this one is just another one on that list.
I highly recommend anything by Ondaatje, and this one is just another one on that list.
I'd hoped to enjoy this book more than I did. Because it was supposedly the memoir of an eleven year-old boy travelling more-or-less unsupervised on an ocean liner, I was looking for a boy's sense of adventure, a boy's sense of wonder. I was disappointed that an academic, high-brow adult voice was telling the story, rather than a child's voice. The plot and characters did not engage me; returning to reading was a chore, and the book was forgettable. I felt there was a missed opportunity for an engaging and insightful story told from a unique perspective.
Beautiful writing and an intriguing story that gets revealed bit by bit, that's what kept me reading this book. I must say the subject matter was not something that super interested me, but I very much appreciated the author's treatment of it.
The language reminded me of reading Joseph Conrad (which I think partially inspired this novel) so it wasn't exactly the easiest to read. It was very much an observation of people, personalities, and an introspective on the many different shades of friendship and what they mean. As usual, Ondaatje's characters are vivid and memorable.
Recommended for fans of historical fiction set at sea, quirky, memorable characters, and fans of Ondaatje's other works.
The language reminded me of reading Joseph Conrad (which I think partially inspired this novel) so it wasn't exactly the easiest to read. It was very much an observation of people, personalities, and an introspective on the many different shades of friendship and what they mean. As usual, Ondaatje's characters are vivid and memorable.
Recommended for fans of historical fiction set at sea, quirky, memorable characters, and fans of Ondaatje's other works.
Eleven year old Michael is traveling alone on an ocean liner for three weeks from Sri Lanka to London to meet his mother. It is 1950-something, and he has the now unimaginable luxury of roaming the ship with two friends he made on board, with little to no supervision. "Sleep is a prison for a boy who has friends to meet." Much of their time is spent spying on various adults on board, trying to understand things that they have never had the time or occasion to witness in that adult world. The writing is slow and beautiful, the setting is mesmerizing. The story unfolds slowly but it is easy to see why the experience of this voyage would be absolutely unforgettable and life altering for the boys. I prefer books that are slightly more plotty, but this novel's setting is captivating.
The Cat's Table is a beautifully written novel about 11 year old Michael (aka Mynah), who travels from Sri Lanka to England on the ship Oronsay, in the early 1950s. The journey takes about three weeks. The book recounts Michael's adventures with the friends & odd characters he meets on the ship - his friends Cassius & Ramadhin; his cousin Emily, travelling separately from him; Miss Lasqueti, Mr. Fonseka, Mr. Gunesekera, Mr. Mazappa, & Mr. Daniels, among others. It's about how a short but out of the ordinary experience can shape you for many years to come, & be a turning point in your life. On the Oronsay, Michael & friends play, get in trouble, & learn about their fellow passengers in the odd sort of way you do learn about people when you're 11 - you know some things about them, but so much remains hidden. Michael & friends get involved in a mystery involving the shackled prisoner being transported to England on the Oronsay - & what happens will influence & change their lives in ways they can't foresee.
The great thing about this book is that it's not ashamed to mix humor with drama & emotion. It's a great travelogue & adventure tale - full of crazy characters. As it's being told through Michael's eyes, you don't get to hear any one character's full story - you just get pieces, as you do when you're a child. Despite this, as a reader you will get involved with these odd people & you will want to know what happens to them! (Pigeon-toting women! Piano players! A wealthy man with a curse on him! An amorous botanist!)
Beyond the fun, there's a genuine mystery & then oonflict surrounding Michael's post-Oronsay life. What happens on the Oronsay is so seminal that he is not able to let go of it, & it carries over into his life for many years afterward - & that's the case for others involved in the story as well.
I feel the central thought behind this book has to do with the "moved heart" that Ondaatje mentions toward the end of the book. As a result of things that happen to us in life, we harden our hearts & seal ourselves off - & this happens more as we grow older - which makes us look back on childhood with that nostalgia - because we know we were more open to feelings & experiences then. Ondaatje asks whether this may result in "cold-blooded self sufficiency that is damaging to us? Is this what has left us, still uncertain, at a Cat's Table, looking back, looking back, searching out those we journeyed with or were formed by, even now, at our age?"
That resonated with me because I think the age that Michael is during his journey is a very formative one; things that happen to you around that age are things you remember for the rest of your life, especially if they're things beyond just ordinary, day to day life. It doesn't surprise me that Michael is continuing to search for the people he had those experiences with.
Bravo to Ondaatje for writing a book that combines travel, adventure, & a sensitive exploration of how childhood experiences shape us in adulthood. Well done.
The great thing about this book is that it's not ashamed to mix humor with drama & emotion. It's a great travelogue & adventure tale - full of crazy characters. As it's being told through Michael's eyes, you don't get to hear any one character's full story - you just get pieces, as you do when you're a child. Despite this, as a reader you will get involved with these odd people & you will want to know what happens to them! (Pigeon-toting women! Piano players! A wealthy man with a curse on him! An amorous botanist!)
Beyond the fun, there's a genuine mystery & then oonflict surrounding Michael's post-Oronsay life. What happens on the Oronsay is so seminal that he is not able to let go of it, & it carries over into his life for many years afterward - & that's the case for others involved in the story as well.
I feel the central thought behind this book has to do with the "moved heart" that Ondaatje mentions toward the end of the book. As a result of things that happen to us in life, we harden our hearts & seal ourselves off - & this happens more as we grow older - which makes us look back on childhood with that nostalgia - because we know we were more open to feelings & experiences then. Ondaatje asks whether this may result in "cold-blooded self sufficiency that is damaging to us? Is this what has left us, still uncertain, at a Cat's Table, looking back, looking back, searching out those we journeyed with or were formed by, even now, at our age?"
That resonated with me because I think the age that Michael is during his journey is a very formative one; things that happen to you around that age are things you remember for the rest of your life, especially if they're things beyond just ordinary, day to day life. It doesn't surprise me that Michael is continuing to search for the people he had those experiences with.
Bravo to Ondaatje for writing a book that combines travel, adventure, & a sensitive exploration of how childhood experiences shape us in adulthood. Well done.