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tylerenee12's review
adventurous
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
slow-paced
3.5
this book is insanely charming and so funny. the whole time I could picture the scenes and what Chippy was up to, and man I just love cats and boats
the only thing is it gets a bit repetitive, since the journal mostly takes place when the exhibition was at a standstill in the ice. there wasn’t much pushing the book forward, so it was a bit difficult to fully get through. but I still think it’s worth a read it’s so silly
this isn’t a spoiler I’d say cause it happened in real life and this part isn’t even in the book but reading other reviews I just found out that the captain orders to shoot all the animals from the ship?? so Chippy got fucking shot dead?? it would be absolutely insane if that was written as a “journal entry” in this book but like,,, to end it like they all started on this walk back to land and it was happy ever after and in real life they KILLED him?? I was about to go to sleep but idk if I can after that,,,
anyway it’s a very fun book! just pretend you didn’t know that he got shot I guess 😭
the only thing is it gets a bit repetitive, since the journal mostly takes place when the exhibition was at a standstill in the ice. there wasn’t much pushing the book forward, so it was a bit difficult to fully get through. but I still think it’s worth a read it’s so silly
this isn’t a spoiler I’d say cause it happened in real life and this part isn’t even in the book but reading other reviews I just found out that the captain orders to shoot all the animals from the ship?? so Chippy got fucking shot dead?? it would be absolutely insane if that was written as a “journal entry” in this book but like,,, to end it like they all started on this walk back to land and it was happy ever after and in real life they KILLED him?? I was about to go to sleep but idk if I can after that,,,
anyway it’s a very fun book! just pretend you didn’t know that he got shot I guess 😭
readacorn's review
3.0
Kurzmeinung / Leseerlebnis
Ich las von der Shackleton-Expedition in "635 im Eis" und darin von der zurückgelassenen Schiffkatze Mrs. Chippy. Nachdem ich erfuhr, dass es eine eigene Biographie der Katze gab, musste ich diese lesen.
Im Nachgang wäre es sicher sinnvoller gewesen, "635 Tage im Eis" und "Mrs. Chippy's Last Expedition" parallel zu lesen, da beiden Werke die jeweiligen historischen Daten an den Kapitelanfang stellen. Nu, hinterher ist man immer schlauer
Ich las von der Shackleton-Expedition in "635 im Eis" und darin von der zurückgelassenen Schiffkatze Mrs. Chippy. Nachdem ich erfuhr, dass es eine eigene Biographie der Katze gab, musste ich diese lesen.
Im Nachgang wäre es sicher sinnvoller gewesen, "635 Tage im Eis" und "Mrs. Chippy's Last Expedition" parallel zu lesen, da beiden Werke die jeweiligen historischen Daten an den Kapitelanfang stellen. Nu, hinterher ist man immer schlauer
amber_lea84's review
5.0
I'm a little disappointed because I was under the impression that Henry McNish wrote this journal from the point of view of his cat. I guess it's easy for me to assume that since my grandfather was a carpenter and I think that's absolutely something he would have done.
I actually recommend pretending that's what's going on because it makes it that much funnier. (Because then you imagine him projecting these beliefs and attitudes about his shipmates onto his cat.)
This book was perfect. If ever a cat had a journal this is probably how it would read. I highly recommend it.
But spoiler alert, I think it's important to know that Chippy dies at the end because that's a pretty unpleasant surprise for such a cute book. The ships captain decides he has to go for the survival of the crew.
I actually recommend pretending that's what's going on because it makes it that much funnier. (Because then you imagine him projecting these beliefs and attitudes about his shipmates onto his cat.)
This book was perfect. If ever a cat had a journal this is probably how it would read. I highly recommend it.
But spoiler alert, I think it's important to know that Chippy dies at the end because that's a pretty unpleasant surprise for such a cute book. The ships captain decides he has to go for the survival of the crew.
jrc2011's review
3.0
We all know the true end to Mrs Chippy's expedition -- and I have put off reading this book for ages because of it. The book itself is an homage to life from the perspective of a very self-assured feline. The world revolves around him, in his mind, and he doesn't see the ultimate betrayal coming at the end.
There are some laugh out loud passages in this book -- like when two of the ship mates are describing how to turn around in a bunk while Mrs Chippy is nestled between one's ankles. Mrs Chippy finds this droll but "instructive" because, as he notes -- his sleep has been disturbed by the tossing and turning of louts who were not very considerate. Mrs. Chippy is depicted as very curious - inspecting and supervising, going on watches and tormenting the dogs who are persistently depicted as less intelligent.
Whenever someone picks up and carries Mrs Chippy - it's always "I accompanied him on his shoulders ..." or "I accompanied him in the crook of his left arm" ... as if Mrs Chippy is making the decision to have the person pick him up and carry him.
The book is a very amusing exercise in life from the perspective of the cat -- but ultimately, it's an homage to a creature who was betrayed by those humans whose lives intertwined with his. His mate, Chippy, never forgave Shackleton for this act. There's a statue to Mrs. Chippy in Wellington!
There are some laugh out loud passages in this book -- like when two of the ship mates are describing how to turn around in a bunk while Mrs Chippy is nestled between one's ankles. Mrs Chippy finds this droll but "instructive" because, as he notes -- his sleep has been disturbed by the tossing and turning of louts who were not very considerate. Mrs. Chippy is depicted as very curious - inspecting and supervising, going on watches and tormenting the dogs who are persistently depicted as less intelligent.
Whenever someone picks up and carries Mrs Chippy - it's always "I accompanied him on his shoulders ..." or "I accompanied him in the crook of his left arm" ... as if Mrs Chippy is making the decision to have the person pick him up and carry him.
The book is a very amusing exercise in life from the perspective of the cat -- but ultimately, it's an homage to a creature who was betrayed by those humans whose lives intertwined with his. His mate, Chippy, never forgave Shackleton for this act. There's a statue to Mrs. Chippy in Wellington!
steviemoody17's review
It's to slow for my taste and got distracted by other hobbies and books
bab's review against another edition
5.0
So sweet... The very idea of the book, and then the book itself... This whole thing about Caroline Alexander feeling that there was something very specific that would be missing in her main book about the Endurance expedition just as in all other future books about it, and that she decided to write it down, and that she managed to do it so beautifully, and that it got published, too... It's almost too good to be true! It doesn't make this the best of all possible worlds, of course, but in that ultimately sublime version of this universe they definitely have this book too. Love everything about it! All hail Mrs. Chippy! ^_^
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