Into the Forest discussion

A place to discuss books with Cats in them for our 2020 Reading Challenge.

Looking for recommendations.

I currently have The Night Tiger on my list.

Update: and have also added The Tiger's Bride and Puss-in-Boots, both from The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories

These are 3 on my list as of right now

Chinese Whiskers
Kafka on the Shore (b/c I was told there's a talking cat)
Breed to Come (b/c that cover! LOL also it blends sci-fi with fantasy which I almost always love)

I might read The Master and Margarita, but The Night Tiger looks good!

Leah wrote: "These are 3 on my list as of right now

Chinese Whiskers
Kafka on the Shore (b/c I was told there's a talking cat)
Breed to Come (b/c that cover! LOL also ..."

Thanks for the suggestions. Yes, there is cat talk in Kafka on the Shore. Most of Murakami's books involve cats. A chapter from 1Q84 is published as a short story 'The Town of Cats' in The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...

Margaret wrote: "I might read The Master and Margarita..." I only read that a couple of months ago, but forgot it features a very savvy cat.

Amanda wrote: "Margaret wrote: "I might read The Master and Margarita..."

Hmm, I'm intrigued by the blurb "...accompanied by a retinue that includes a beautiful naked witch and an immense talking black cat with a fondness for chess and vodka..." and I haven't read much Russian lit... but you and Jalilah both gave it 3 stars, which makes me think it's just so-so??

Leah wrote: "Amanda wrote: "Margaret wrote: "I might read The Master and Margarita..."

Hmm, I'm intrigued by the blurb "...accompanied by a retinue that includes a beautiful naked witch and an im..."

With books which come with a BIG reputation, I'm often let down. And this one sounded right up my street. Maybe my expectations were too high. It wasn't bad, but neither was it great.

For YA (but very old YA, published in 1924), there's The Midnight Folk. Plenty of other magical beings (owls, witches, etc.) too.

Amanda: I couldn't make head nor tail of the Master and Margarita. I had to have a Bosnian friend explain to me why it was funny. I don't know if it makes more sense the closer to Russia you are, or if I had translation issues, or I'm just thick...

I have a friend who has read every translation of The Master and the Margarita. He said to go with the Burgin and O'Connor translation. That some of the others are quite bad.

The Master and Margarita is one of the most popular Russian classics here. And Behemot is utterly hilarious 😉

Asaria wrote: "The Master and Margarita is one of the most popular Russian classics here. And Behemot is utterly hilarious 😉"

I read it in German in the 80s when I lived in Berlin and remember being just so so about it. It could be because German is not my first language so I missed some nuances.

This upcoming reissue looks interesting:
Of Cats and Elfins: Short Tales and Fantasies.

Maybe something to read in tandem with Lolly Willowes for witches?

I just finished The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern and there are so many cats in it! Guarding portals, hanging out in alternate worlds...the novel is really fantastic. I'm currently going to count it as my cat read but I still plan to read M&M.

There are a few books in Tamora Pierce's Tortallverse that have a cat character who plays a significant role:

• In the Hand of the Goddess
• The Woman Who Rides Like a Man
• Lioness Rampant
• Terrier
• Bloodhound
• Mastiff

If satire book told from cat's perspective is fine, then there is a Japanese classic I Am a Cat by Natsume Sōseki.

It seems like a children's book but I really enjoyed The Cats of Tanglewood Forest. I think we might have had a group read for it here along time ago, but in any case I just thought of it now!

Jalilah wrote: "It seems a children's book but I really enjoyed The Cats of Tanglewood Forest. I think we might have had a group read for it here along time ago, but in any case I just thought of i..."

That one is delightful!

You might be interested in A Tiger for Malgudi by R.K. Narayan. It's told in the first person voice of an old tiger looking back on his life. I enjoyed it.

Also, T.S. Eliot's delightful book of poetry, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats.

And then there's Green Lion by Henrietta Rose-Innes, a philosophical novel featuring a lion called Sekhmet.

Leah wrote: "Amanda wrote: "Margaret wrote: "I might read The Master and Margarita..."

Hmm, I'm intrigued by the blurb "...accompanied by a retinue that includes a beautiful naked witch and an im..."

Amanda wrote: "With books which come with a BIG reputation, I'm often let down. And this one sounded right up my street. Maybe my expectations were too high. It wasn't bad, but neither was it great."

As I said above, I read it in the 80s. I might revisit it again to see how I find it now. I have only read 2 Russian books that are labeled as magical realism. They are very different than Latin American magical realism. Since the later is one of my favourite genres so that could be why I was let down my the former.

First I was going to reread Kafka on the Shore because I really loved it, but now I am considering The Starless Sea or The Night Tiger.
They both sound good!

I just had a look and I did not know The Night Tiger was by the same author who wrote The Ghost Bride so that will be my pick! In face I just ordered it!

Cat wrote: "There are a few books in Tamora Pierce's Tortallverse that have a cat character who plays a significant role:

• In the Hand of the Goddess
• The Woman Who Rides Like a Man
• Lioness Rampant
• Terr..."
I would add Protector of the Small. I vaguely remember cats being rescued at the beginning of the first book, First Test. There are wild cats in The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley, too.