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A review by alassel
The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje
4.0
This is our book club pick for January, which I completely forgot about until this past Monday, but luckily it is a pretty fast read. The story is told by Michael (although you don't learn his name or his nickname Mynah until well into the second half of the book), and it covers his 21-day journey at the age of 11 from India to England. Michael was placed at the "worst" table in the dining room, named the Cat's Table from one of the other odd folk who were also seated there, and the book revolves around the events of the trip and those at the table. Michael spends most of his time with his two friends, interacts with his older cousin Emily, and submits to occasional questioning from a distant aunt.
The majority of the book is written from Michael's perspective as an eleven-year-old boy on quite the adventure, and is very interesting because of that. The three boys adventure throughout the ship, convincing people to show them things like a mural of pinup girls and the hidden kennels, watching the other folk on the ship including a roller-skating girl and a criminal, and generally illustrating a type of childhood episode that just does not happen anymore. As the book moves through the story, the adult Michael appears as it becomes apparent he is telling this story from his memory, and the adult's appearances become more frequent and longer as he muses over different meanings of what he saw as well as his life since that fateful voyage.
Overall I found the book very interesting and very well written. I did find the first appearances of the adult Michael jarring and surprising, although after the change in overall point of view was established they flowed along with the rest of the story. The individual stories told are fascinating, and the adult ramifications of what the child saw and did are interesting and reflect character growth. The overall purpose of the story is revealed at the end, and I found that to be very interesting - a bit of a mystery is solved, and the possible ramifications on the solution are explored. I really liked how the book was neatly bookended with the departure and arrival of young Michael on the ship, as that made a pleasing symmetry.
This is an interesting book and a good piece of fiction, I recommend it.
The majority of the book is written from Michael's perspective as an eleven-year-old boy on quite the adventure, and is very interesting because of that. The three boys adventure throughout the ship, convincing people to show them things like a mural of pinup girls and the hidden kennels, watching the other folk on the ship including a roller-skating girl and a criminal, and generally illustrating a type of childhood episode that just does not happen anymore. As the book moves through the story, the adult Michael appears as it becomes apparent he is telling this story from his memory, and the adult's appearances become more frequent and longer as he muses over different meanings of what he saw as well as his life since that fateful voyage.
Overall I found the book very interesting and very well written. I did find the first appearances of the adult Michael jarring and surprising, although after the change in overall point of view was established they flowed along with the rest of the story. The individual stories told are fascinating, and the adult ramifications of what the child saw and did are interesting and reflect character growth. The overall purpose of the story is revealed at the end, and I found that to be very interesting - a bit of a mystery is solved, and the possible ramifications on the solution are explored. I really liked how the book was neatly bookended with the departure and arrival of young Michael on the ship, as that made a pleasing symmetry.
This is an interesting book and a good piece of fiction, I recommend it.