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The Cat's Table
The Cat's Table | Michael Ondaatje
From Michael Ondaatje: an electrifying new novel, by turns thrilling and deeply moving -- one of his most vividly rendered and compelling works of fiction to date.In the early 1950s, an eleven-year-old boy boards a huge liner bound for England. At mealtimes, he is placed at the lowly "Cat's Table" with an eccentric and unforgettable group of grownups and two other boys. As the ship makes its way across the Indian Ocean, through the Suez Canal, into the Mediterranean, the boys find themselves immersed in the worlds and stories of the adults around them. At night they spy on a shackled prisoner -- his crime and fate a galvanizing mystery that will haunt them forever.Looking back from deep within adulthood, and gradually moving back and forth from the decks and holds of the ship to the years that follow the narrator unfolds a spellbinding and layered tale about the magical, often forbidden discoveries of childhood and the burdens of earned understanding, about a life-long journey that began unexpectedly with a sea voyage.From the Hardcover edition.
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Texreader
The Cat's Table | Michael Ondaatje
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Completely impulse buys from HPB today. 😊 Last ones. Thanks for letting me take over your litsy feed for awhile

jdiehr The Seven Sisters series is so good! 10mo
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rock.kowgurl
The Cat's Table | Michael Ondaatje
Panpan

Droll. Could barely even finish it.

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VickieC
The Cat's Table | Michael Ondaatje
Mehso-so

I am in the middle of this novel and am disappointed. I am reading it for my book club, and was expecting more. The plot is non-existent. It is a series of vignettes about a voyage take by an 11 year old boy from (then) Ceylon to England circa 1950.. Ondaatje‘s writing is good but the novel is too disjointed for me.

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laytonwoman3rd
The Cat's Table | Michael Ondaatje

Gentle pacing, lovely writing, very little plot, but so many stories. The narrator needs most of his life to contemplate and try to understand the events of a 3 week sea voyage he took as a virtually unsupervised 11-year-old. Fine stuff.

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tracyrowanreads
The Cat's Table | Michael Ondaatje
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New in from Thrift Books. Leo approves.

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thebluestocking
The Cat's Table | Michael Ondaatje
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Pickpick

The other day, I just had a craving to read a Michael Ondaatje book. His language is so fluid and memorable. I didn‘t find the plot in this one to be very compelling, but I loved the language and the individual scenes and vignettes of the people from the ship‘s cat‘s table, the least socially significant group of passengers on board.

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thebluestocking
The Cat's Table | Michael Ondaatje
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“But he had a serenity that came with the choice of the life he wanted to live. And this serenity and certainty I have seen only among those who have the armour of books close by.”

❤️📚❤️ #michaelondaatje

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DarcysMom
The Cat's Table | Michael Ondaatje
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Pickpick

🌟🌟🌟🌟
#audiobook
#overdrive

RohitSawant Great review! This sounds wonderful. 7y
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DarcysMom
The Cat's Table | Michael Ondaatje
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DarcysMom
The Cat's Table | Michael Ondaatje
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ju.ca.no I really liked that one😊 7y
DarcysMom @ju.ca.no I am just over half way through - it is really good! I love his voice. 7y
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DarcysMom
The Cat's Table | Michael Ondaatje
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DarcysMom
The Cat's Table | Michael Ondaatje
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Centique
The Cat's Table | Michael Ondaatje
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Pickpick

I screwed up a bit with this book. For some reason Id thought it was autobiographical so I was looking forward to reading something quite different. Of course it‘s a novel told in an autobiographical style. There are really thoughtful and subtle depictions of characters - Ondaatje is a master of making you think twice about human nature IMO. But I couldn‘t quite get over my misstep in what I had been looking forward to reading!

CarolynM This has been on my TBR since it was first published. I must get around to it sometime... 7y
Lindy The child part of the storyline is largely autobiographical, according to the author. 7y
Lcsmcat Sounds fascinating. 7y
Centique @Lindy that‘s interesting, thanks L 😊 7y
Centique @CarolynM it‘s quite a quick read with really short chapters, so could be a change of pace in between bigger books. 7y
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Centique
The Cat's Table | Michael Ondaatje
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“This serenity and certainty I have seen only among those who have the armour of books close by”

Knowing my books are near makes me feel more serene too. 😊(Well calmer and less chaotic anyway!)

Cathythoughts I agree. Books are a great support in my life. They help to hold me up 📖❤️ 7y
Cathythoughts And they help my sanity 👍 7y
Centique @Cathythoughts I‘m glad we both have this armour! 💕 7y
59 likes3 comments
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Jilljemmett
The Cat's Table | Michael Ondaatje
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A Canadian classic and Hermione‘s cat Cruikshanks 😸


#rockinmay (Cats in the Cradle) - The Cat‘s Table


#bookstagram #bookblogger #bibliophile #canlit #harrypotter #hermione #cat #fiction

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StephanieMarie
The Cat's Table | Michael Ondaatje
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#Blinddatewithabook I picked up yesterday! I'm looking forward to reading it :)

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Bibliogeekery
The Cat's Table | Michael Ondaatje
Pickpick

I really enjoyed this book the second time around. Listening to Michael Ondaatje read it was quite enjoyable. A fictional emigration story of an eleven year old boy on a boat bound for England (drawn, in part, from the author's own Susie experience). The boat and everyone on it becomes it own little world full of mystery, intrigue and wonder narrated from the perspective of a precocious and largely unsupervised child.

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Bibliogeekery
The Cat's Table | Michael Ondaatje
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😍😍😍 Me too!

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Bibliogeekery
The Cat's Table | Michael Ondaatje
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I let the audiobook expire before finishing this one. Oops. I miss Michael Ondaatje's voice already! So I've turned back to the paper copy to finish it off. 📚

LeahBergen I need to get to this one soon (it's sitting on my shelf). 8y
rabbitprincess I love the cover! 8y
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Bibliogeekery
The Cat's Table | Michael Ondaatje
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More migraine = more audiobook. This beautiful emigration story has got me thinking about how most people in North America (except First Nations, Inuit) are immigrants. My family came to Canada from Ireland, Germany, England and Scotland. What is your family immigration story?

MicheleinPhilly My great grandparents came to the U.S. from Ireland and Italy. One set got married in Sicily when they were 15! 8y
DGRachel Sorry about your migraine! Hope it goes away soon! 8y
rabbitprincess I love that cover! 8y
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mllemay France and Germany. Hope the migraine disappears soon :) 8y
Lizpixie I'm so sorry you're in the #litsymigraineclub Most of my ancestors came to Australia from Scotland, with quite a few English convicts on the first & second fleet with a dash of Scandinavian & Koori thrown in. 8y
Lindy @MicheleinPhilly Ancestry from 17c France, 19c Poland & 20c Slovakia. My Slovak grandmother had a double wedding with her sister. They were 15 & 16. 8y
BooksForEmpathy Father's side from Italy and Ireland... mother's side from South Korea and Kentucky (not sure where - they have been here a loooong time)... and I am a 5th generation San Franciscan ☺. 8y
MicheleinPhilly @Lindy Wow! It's amazing, isn't it? I look at my nieces and nephews and think, "Over my dead body will you be getting married now!" ☺ 8y
KimSG Paternal grandmother met paternal grandfather when he was fighting for the US in France during WW II. He went into a cafe to practice his French and the rest is history. Mom's side has been here forever, are mostly from England and Wales. 8y
slhbooks My maternal grandmother's family came from Norway. My maternal grandfather's family came from Sweden. My paternal grandparents were English and somewhere some German snuck in too. My paternal grandmother was an Eggleston. Her side of the family can be traced back to about 1580 England. 8y
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Bibliogeekery
The Cat's Table | Michael Ondaatje
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I'm so sick with migraine right now that I can't do anything! I cancelled my clients and am hiding in bed listening to the audiobook of The Cat's Table - Michael Ondaatje's amazing tale of an 11 year old's immigration from Columbia to England via ocean liner. The book is about the whole universe that is created and exists on the boat. It's a re-read for me - such a great book!

Joybishoptx I'm sorry you're not feeling well ☹️ 8y
Suet624 I'm so sorry. 8y
KCorter Oh no, migraine days are the worst days (or weeks...) I hope you feel better soon! 8y
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Cinfhen I sympathize with you, migraine are a bitch🤕hope it passes quickly 8y
LeahBergen Blech. Poor you! 8y
DebinHawaii Hope you feel better soon! 🤕💜💜 8y
DGRachel Yuck! I hope you feel better soon! #migrainessuck 🤕 8y
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Bibliogeekery
The Cat's Table | Michael Ondaatje
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😍

DivineDiana Saving this! Beautiful! 8y
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Bibliogeekery
The Cat's Table | Michael Ondaatje
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I'm revisiting this amazing story via audiobook!

Jaimelire Want to read this one! 8y
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ju.ca.no
The Cat's Table | Michael Ondaatje
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Pickpick

Finally finished this fantastic book- right in time for the new books that I hope to find under the chrismastree😊 I can highly recommend the book! It is an exiting story about the 11 year old Michael who experiances adventures, intense feelings and thrilling moments on his ship journey to england. really glad I got the chance to read it!

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ju.ca.no
The Cat's Table | Michael Ondaatje
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a good book & tea - because how else would a perfect morning look like :) (well- it would be even better if I didn't have to head to work now....) 🤓📚☕️😴

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ju.ca.no
The Cat's Table | Michael Ondaatje
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so far I really enjoy reading this book! I'm glad Vienna chose this one for their One City-One Book Day 😊

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ju.ca.no
The Cat's Table | Michael Ondaatje
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starting a new book today! Got it for free on the "one city-one book" day, here in vienna, which is a fantastic idea ?

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SusanInTiburon
The Cat's Table | Michael Ondaatje
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Pickpick

Cat's table, get it? Anyway, #Recommendsday: In this wonderful tale, the cat's table is the furthest thing from the captain's table, and thus fit for a young boy traveling alone and the other shipboard misfits. There's mischief, mystery, romance, adventure, and an utterly unforgettable scene of a storm at sea.

StephBengtson Aww 😻 8y
Loreen Someone looks pleased with himself. 😸😸😸 8y
GinaAnderson It's nice to know my TBR shelf is filled with lots of great books! 📚 8y
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LisaMakeWords Kitties! More kitties please. 8y
mauveandrosysky What an adorable cat! 😻 8y
LeahBergen It's on my shelf! 📚 8y
LauraBeth Awww - gorgeous cat 😻 8y
Baileeandme Beautiful cat! 😻 8y
MrBook 😻😻😻 8y
Posemn Oh! I remember wanting to read this book when it first came out and then life happened I guess and I forgot about it. Thanks for the reminder @SusanInTiburon. I am adding it to my stack. 8y
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Kinzuabeth
The Cat's Table | Michael Ondaatje
Pickpick

Very interesting tale with plot twists.