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kelliexdeath 's review for:
The Cat's Table
by Michael Ondaatje
The Cat’s Table by Michael Ondaatje is a coming of age story about Michael, an 11 year-old boy and his 21-day journey aboard the Oronsay in the 1950s. During meals he is seated at what is known “the cat’s table,” which is the farthest table from the captain, among other outcasts. During the journey he and 2 other young boys get into mischief, their one rule being “Each day we had to do ay least one thing that was forbidden” (25). Throughout the novel it cuts to Michael’s adult reflections on this journey and how it influenced the course of his life.
If it weren’t for a book club that I am a part of, I would have never picked up The Cat’s Table, because I have previously tried reading The English Patient and failed. It was just too slow, and The Cat’s Table felt the same way, though I did finish it. I felt like skimming through the book about ¾ of the way through, but then Ondaatje threw in some beautiful lines and so I didn’t want to miss out on some redeeming qualities. “There is a story, always ahead of you. Barely existing. Only gradually do you attach yourself to it and feed it. You discover the carapace that will contain and test your character. You find in this way the path of your life” (181). Coming of age was the overall theme, as Michael experienced friendship, love, and crime aboard the ship. It reminded me of summer camp as a kid, where one week seems like a lifetime and the people you meet, though you never see them again, own this little part of you.
Again, the book was slow. There were parts that were vague, like how far the relationship went between Michael and his “cousin” Emily, but maybe the vagueness was supposed to simulate our memory and how we can only fully understand our youth in retrospect. Probably the biggest barrier in my connection with this book was that I couldn’t imagine what the main characters looked like, or what they should have sounded like. I tried to focus on descriptions, but there were so many characters on the ship that it got confusing. Though there were some pretty lines about growing up, it wasn’t enough to want this book on my shelf. I am looking forward to the book club meeting, though, to find out who the heck chose it and what I’m supposed to love about it.
If it weren’t for a book club that I am a part of, I would have never picked up The Cat’s Table, because I have previously tried reading The English Patient and failed. It was just too slow, and The Cat’s Table felt the same way, though I did finish it. I felt like skimming through the book about ¾ of the way through, but then Ondaatje threw in some beautiful lines and so I didn’t want to miss out on some redeeming qualities. “There is a story, always ahead of you. Barely existing. Only gradually do you attach yourself to it and feed it. You discover the carapace that will contain and test your character. You find in this way the path of your life” (181). Coming of age was the overall theme, as Michael experienced friendship, love, and crime aboard the ship. It reminded me of summer camp as a kid, where one week seems like a lifetime and the people you meet, though you never see them again, own this little part of you.
Again, the book was slow. There were parts that were vague, like how far the relationship went between Michael and his “cousin” Emily, but maybe the vagueness was supposed to simulate our memory and how we can only fully understand our youth in retrospect. Probably the biggest barrier in my connection with this book was that I couldn’t imagine what the main characters looked like, or what they should have sounded like. I tried to focus on descriptions, but there were so many characters on the ship that it got confusing. Though there were some pretty lines about growing up, it wasn’t enough to want this book on my shelf. I am looking forward to the book club meeting, though, to find out who the heck chose it and what I’m supposed to love about it.