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chillcox15's review against another edition
5.0
Hrabal's raging struggle with and against the inevitability of nature, the pure sublime potency of moving through life, all channelled through his relationship with his beloved cats, the cats that he longs to cuddle with but, with their very nature, brings his life into a deadlock of frustration and mortifying action. Between this and people's reactions to Satantango, there's something frustrating to the bourgeois reaction to media that depicts people harming cats (both centered in Eastern Europe, but the fact that theres an entire list about books where cats are hurt/killed on this website shows that the issue is widespread). Look, I love my kitty more than most things, but uhh... there's a tsk-tsking to the relationship that others have to cats (and not all of these cats are well-heeled indoor domestics, either, that feels off. I really liked this book, but I'm also glad it wasn't much longer- its suicidal immensity of feeling that life can never escape the devastating strifes of impossible decisions is almost too much to bear.
allisnowharmed's review against another edition
4.25
reread but this time taking on the english translation because i'm due for an essay on this. the cycle of anxiety, guilt, attempted retribution + an unfulfilled prohpecy that, to my mind, remains so only because of the committed acts that beget the guilt. all the while trying to make sense of growing old.
cedarsob's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.5
an_finsceal's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death
ube_cake's review against another edition
5.0
“Everything that had once cried out within me now fell silent, the pressure of everything feline that had broken my heart and mind had somehow been vented, and I sat at home by the window like a liberated prisoner, capable of nothing more than staring into the heart of silence and tranquility.”
What initially starts off as this cutesy slice-of-life into the author’s life with cats turns into this haunting and stunningly heartfelt exploration into violence and guilt. It is not a book for light reading as its brevity may suggest: had to take some short breaks in between every chapter or so ‘cos of how *heavy* its content is.
One thing’s for sure: I now have to read more from this author. If he could make me deeply care about him caring for his cats (even as they cross to the afterlife)—I can only imagine what else he’d make me feel in his other, more serious novels.
What initially starts off as this cutesy slice-of-life into the author’s life with cats turns into this haunting and stunningly heartfelt exploration into violence and guilt. It is not a book for light reading as its brevity may suggest: had to take some short breaks in between every chapter or so ‘cos of how *heavy* its content is.
One thing’s for sure: I now have to read more from this author. If he could make me deeply care about him caring for his cats (even as they cross to the afterlife)—I can only imagine what else he’d make me feel in his other, more serious novels.