The Cat’s Table
The Cat’s Table by Michael Ondaatje, published by Vintage in 2012, is a novel that explores a young boy’s transformative journey from Ceylon to England during the 1950s. This edition spans 366 pages and is presented in English. The story follows an eleven-year-old boy who embarks on a voyage aboard a grand liner, where he finds himself seated at the ‘cat’s table’ during meals, far from the Captain’s table, alongside a diverse group of adults and two other boys.
Readers will discover a narrative rich in adventure and discovery as the boys navigate their experiences on the ship, including their fascination with a mysterious shackled prisoner. The novel delves into themes of coming of age and cultural heritage, capturing the essence of a pivotal moment in the boy’s life. Ondaatje’s storytelling invites readers to reflect on the complexities of childhood and the impact of travel, all set against the backdrop of the sea.
Official synopsis Publisher
From the acclaimed author of The English Patient comes a stunningly beautiful novel about a boy’s life-changing journey from Ceylon to England in the 1950s.
What had there been before such a ship in my life? A dugout canoe on a river journey? A launch in Trincomalee harbour? There were always fishing boats on our horizon. But I could never imagine the grandeur of this castle that was to cross the sea.
In the early 1950s, an eleven-year-old boy boards a huge liner in Colombo bound for England. At mealtimes he is seated at the lowly ‘cat’s table’ , as far from the Captain’s table as can be, with a ragtag group of adults and two other boys, Cassius and Ramadhin. As the ship crosses the Indian Ocean the boys tumble from one adventure to another, and at night they spy on a shackled prisoner, his crime and fate a mystery that will haunt them forever…
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