Tag Archives: cats

The Meowmorphosis by Franz Kafka and Coleridge Cook

Posted by melydia on July 12, 2011 None comments

The Meowmorphosis by Franz Kafka and Coleridge Cook: Continuing the classics-with-extra-bits trend that began with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, here we have the tale of The Metamorphosis where instead of turning into a giant bug, Gregor Samsa awakens to find himself transformed into an adorable kitten. It’s been a long time since I read the original, but I think there were also portions from The Trial included as well. Either way, it doesn’t work very well. There are a few good lines here and there, but by and large you’d be better off just reading the original, which is absurd enough on its own. I did, however, very much enjoy the appendices: a snarky biography of Kafka and some hilarious discussion questions. Those are worth reading on their own merits.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

A Golfer’s Tail by Roscoe Watkins

Posted by melydia on June 21, 2010 None comments

A Golfer’s Tail by Roscoe Watkins: This is the story of a feline golfer and his quest for the double slam: wins at the all the major golf tournaments, senior and regular, in one year. I’ll say up front that I neither know nor care a lick about golf, but I’ve found that you don’t always have to be a sports fan to enjoy a sports story. Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s the case here. While the cat-related quips were somewhat entertaining, such as the importance of tail dynamics, the rest of the book consisted play-by-play descriptions of each golf tournament. I found it to be a somewhat exhausting laundry list of birdies, pars, eagles, and bogeys, occasionally punctuated by the crowd going “wild” and/or a “feeling of calm” settling over Roscoe. That said, I’m sure it would be very interesting to an avid golfer. However, between that and the cringe-inducing Japanese stereotype serving as Roscoe’s main adversary, it took me a very long time to finish this slim novel. If you’re a huge fan of both golf and cats, this may well be the book for you. It’s just not the book for me.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Everything Here is Mine by Nicole Hillander

Posted by melydia on July 23, 2009 3 comments

Everything Here Is Mine by Nicole Hollander: It seemed, at first glance, that I fit squarely into the target audience for this book. I like cats, I like comic strips, and I like humor. And it’s not like my tastes are all that high-class: I still often find LOLcats funny. But this book, alas, is not particularly funny. I suppose I should have been somewhat cautious when I realized it was by the cartoonist behind Sylvia, which is often just a half-step away from actual humor. And thus it is with this book. Parts of it – such as the woman raised by cats or the mind games cats play – are almost funny, which is in some ways more disappointing than something that is all-out unfunny. And I think the worst part was that I could spot jokes I know other people would find funny. I could imagine certain friends of mine laughing at various lines, particularly if read out loud. So maybe I wasn’t the target audience after all.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Waiting for Gertrude by Bill Richardson

Posted by melydia on August 7, 2008 None comments

Waiting for Gertrude by Bill Richardson: Many famous people are buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. This book is written with the idea that the feral cats roaming the grounds are actually the reincarnations of the graves’ residents. The plot revolves around Alice B. Toklas as she waits for the reincarnation of Gertrude Stein to arrive. In the meantime there are side dramas involving Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, Sarah Bernhardt, Chopin, and many more. I believe I would have gotten more out of this had I been more familiar with the works and attitudes of the characters in real life (Stein in particular), but it was still an enjoyable and very quick read.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

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