A review by aeudaimonia
Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot

funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

This book's kind of great. There are several racist parts because it was 1939. Highly uncomfortable lines notwithstanding, T. S. Eliot is master of English verse (especially how he plays with meter - very good) and the poems maintain their energy and intrigue throughout, despite all of them being about cats. They even manage to be hilarious. But the best part of the book by far is that it was clearly written by a cat lover for cat lovers. Poems like The Rum Tum Tugger, the Song of the Jellicles, Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, etc. are great and bizarre but also just dramatized versions of what it's like to have cats; we can read the Jellicle Ball, for example, as a poeticized take on when cats get the zoomies at three in the morning. I'm a major fan.
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