First sentence: Gareth was a black cat with orange eyes.
Premise/plot: Jason is having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. But that begins to change when in the midst of complaining out loud to his cat, Gareth, Gareth surprises him by talking back. The cat reveals that he can visit nine different lives--any time, any country--and he can and will be happy to take Jason with him.
The times visited by Jason and Gareth: Egypt 2700 B.C., Rome and Britain 55 B.C., Ireland 411 A.D., Japan 998 A.D., Italy 1468, Peru 1555, The Isle of Man 1588, Germany 1600, America 1775.
If you're a cat lover who also enjoys time travel, this is a GREAT read.
My thoughts: I really, really, really found this to be a GREAT read. I found it entertaining and just FUN.
Here are some of my favorite quotes.
When I was a child, I always had cats. They seemed very fond of me. Then, after I became Pharaoh, they didn't seem to care for me half as much.
Jason thought for a while. "I don't know," he said at last. "Did you wear that headdress and that beard before you got to be king? That might have frightened them. And another thing," he added, "did you shout as much? Cats don't like being shouted at."
Neter-Khet brightened a little. "That might be it."
"Even so," Jason said, "when you weren't shouting, you'd think they'd have come around again."
"Oh, they did," said Neter-Khet. "But they'd never play or purr when I ordered."
"Did you expect them to?" Jason said. "No cat in the world will do that!"
"But I'm Pharaoh," Neter-Khet said. "I'm supposed to give orders."
"That doesn't mean anything to a cat," said Jason. "Didn't anybody ever tell you?"
"Nobody tells me," Neter-Khet said. "I tell them. Besides, they were my cats, weren't they?"
"In a way they were," Jason said, "and in a way they weren't. A cat can belong to you, but you can't own him. There's a difference." (19-20)
The only thing a cat worries about is what's happening right now. As we tell the kittens, you can only wash one paw at a time. (125)
Cats are good at being cats, and that's enough. (127)
© 2016 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
3 comments:
I also love to have cat and this book is just awesome to read...
I remember taking this book out of the library when I visited my grandmother on the west coast when I was 12. I DEVOURED this book, to the point I finished it before I left to go back home, and I wasn't visiting her for very long. I have been a cat fanatic since I was practically a baby, and I was going through a history kick when I picked it off the shelf.
Thanks for reviewing it, because now I remember this story. I can't wait to pick it up and read it again!
I don't think I have ever read Lloyd Alexander. I really must get on that!
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