~Post by Master Bookseller Kester
Michael Ondaatje’s newest novel, The Cat’s Table, is a grand work set in a small space. The cat’s table of the title is the opposite of the captain’s table; a most undesirable seat reserved for a ship’s undesirables. Undesirables are, of course, life’s most interesting characters, and they are the ship’s most interesting characters, as well.
Among them is the story’s narrator, Michael, who reflects back upon a passage from Colombo to England that serves, in many ways, as his passage from childhood into adulthood. It is a journey filled with twists and turns and the confusion and complexity felt most strongly during adolescence.
In The Cat’s Table, Michael Ondaatje perfectly captures the whimsy and wonder of childhood discovery as well as the anxiety that comes with being small in a world made large. His ship’s voyage serves as a larger-than-life backdrop and the cat’s table as a metaphor for being set apart, left behind, and all too easily forgotten.
BookPeople 