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martydah 's review for:
The Cat's Table
by Michael Ondaatje
Young Michael leaves his home country for England to live with mother aboard the ship Oronsay. He, two boys he meets and befriends, and several adults are placed at the so-called "Cat's Table" in the dining hall, the table furthest from the coveted Captain's table. While the boys essentially run free about the ship (none of them really has a chaperon, aside from Michael's very inattentive 'Auntie' in first class), darker currents run just beneath the placid surface of the passengers. Deep in the hold of the ship is a prisoner, who supposedly has killed a judge in the old country. His presence and relationship to a few seemingly unconnected individuals on board bring the story to a shocking climax.
Michael's story darts from the increasingly dramatic events aboard the Oronsay and his present adult world. Slowly piecing together his memories, he traces connections between his often emotionally-distant relationships of his teen and adult years, and the traumatic crescendo of his voyage. Ondaatje lulls the reader into a sense of quiet security with the boys' daily antics, while subtly suggesting the mysterious pasts of the adults surrounding them.
Michael's story darts from the increasingly dramatic events aboard the Oronsay and his present adult world. Slowly piecing together his memories, he traces connections between his often emotionally-distant relationships of his teen and adult years, and the traumatic crescendo of his voyage. Ondaatje lulls the reader into a sense of quiet security with the boys' daily antics, while subtly suggesting the mysterious pasts of the adults surrounding them.