The Cat's Table
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
2 journalers for this copy...
About the book:
In the early 1950s, an eleven-year-old boy in Colombo boards a ship bound for England. At mealtimes he is seated at the “cat’s table”—as far from the Captain’s Table as can be—with a ragtag group of “insignificant” adults and two other boys, Cassius and Ramadhin. As the ship crosses the Indian Ocean, the boys tumble from one adventure to another, bursting all over the place like freed mercury. But there are other diversions as well: they are first exposed to the magical worlds of jazz, women, and literature by their eccentric fellow travelers, and together they spy on a shackled prisoner, his crime and fate a galvanizing mystery that will haunt them forever.
My opinion:
I bought this book in Frankfurt mainstation on my trip from Paris to Leipzig because I ran out of books for the trainride. I love books about ships, so this book immediately got my attention. The story is more a collection of events during the journey of the ship. Michael is a charming narrator and I liked the descriptions of the people and eventss on the the ship. Especially the people at the Cat's table.
However I found, that the parts about what happened to Michael after the journey were too much and also a bit boring
In the early 1950s, an eleven-year-old boy in Colombo boards a ship bound for England. At mealtimes he is seated at the “cat’s table”—as far from the Captain’s Table as can be—with a ragtag group of “insignificant” adults and two other boys, Cassius and Ramadhin. As the ship crosses the Indian Ocean, the boys tumble from one adventure to another, bursting all over the place like freed mercury. But there are other diversions as well: they are first exposed to the magical worlds of jazz, women, and literature by their eccentric fellow travelers, and together they spy on a shackled prisoner, his crime and fate a galvanizing mystery that will haunt them forever.
My opinion:
I bought this book in Frankfurt mainstation on my trip from Paris to Leipzig because I ran out of books for the trainride. I love books about ships, so this book immediately got my attention. The story is more a collection of events during the journey of the ship. Michael is a charming narrator and I liked the descriptions of the people and eventss on the the ship. Especially the people at the Cat's table.
However I found, that the parts about what happened to Michael after the journey were too much and also a bit boring
Journal Entry 2 by J-sama at -- Per Post geschickt/ Persönlich weitergegeben --, Sachsen Germany on Monday, May 27, 2013
Released 10 yrs ago (5/27/2013 UTC) at -- Per Post geschickt/ Persönlich weitergegeben --, Sachsen Germany
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
Startbefüllung in meiner English-BookBox
Grabbed from the English Bookbox
http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/11917809
http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/11917809
Definitely not Ondaatje´s master piece ... but charming and entertaining. I like the slightly off-kilter characters and how he manages to weave the hints and pieces of information into an image. This easy charm holds up as long as the story stays on the ocean liner - it gets lost a little as soon as the story moves on to the protagonist´s later life. And since this one is all about long trips --- I will take this one with me on my next trip coming up...
Journal Entry 5 by trygvasson at Taksim Metro in Istanbul, Istanbul Turkey on Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Took the book on a trip to Istanbul - left it in the Metro station since it was raining. And after the police bust-up ... who knows where the book is now?
