fionnualalirsdottir 's review for:

The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje

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Finishing a book and feeling compelled to turn to the first page again to reread it is not something I do a lot but [b:The Cat's Table|11076177|The Cat's Table|Michael Ondaatje|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327934764s/11076177.jpg|15238056] is just such a book. The writing is quietly beautiful and the description of the long vanished world of a 1950's trip on an ocean liner is perfect. The reread offers extra insights into that world and underlines the complexity of Ondaatje's story telling. There are many hints of the events to come but they remain quite subtle, not at all menacing. In fact the dramatic events which enfold are always secondary to the descriptions of the passengers and the slices of their lives which we are offered so compellingly. In any case, Ondaatje doesn't really bother too much with tying up the loose ends of the plot - he leaves some things to our imagination.