The Autobiography of Foudini M. Cat
A Novel
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
"I came into the world like everything else that is born, willy-nilly."
So the wise old housecat Foudini begins the delightful story of his life. It is the tale of his orphaned kittenhood; of how he was rescued, cowering and spitting and hissing, from a damp city basement and lured into the lives of the couple he came to call Warm and Pest ("All cats like to make up strange names for things" ). It is the story of how Warm and Pest became "his people" ("Human beings must be excellent mousers; they have such patience" ); of how he learned to tolerate and then to love "his" dog, Sam; and of his adventures at Cold House in the city and Mouse House in the country (he prefers Mouse House, for obvious reasons). With feline equanimity, he tells how he was saved from a racing, swollen river; of how he lost the most unlikely and dearest friend he had; and of how he gained a cat family of his own. And he regales us with news of the ghost cats who visit him in his dreams--the cats of Cleopatra and Freud among them--bringing him their ancient cat wisdom, which Foudini tries, none too successfully at first, to impart to Grace, the sleek and beautiful gray country cat new to the household. As Foudini sees it, Grace is desperately in need of his guidance, but being young and willful, she has other things on her mind . . .
Yet even Grace comes to understand that Foudini M. Cat is well worth listening to. Warm and witty--and possessed of a surprisingly sophisticated narrative manner--Foudini is a cat with truly irrepressible, and irresistible, feline flair.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In what surely is a fictionalized version of the life of a beloved pet, Schaeffer spins an appealing story via the feline narrator of this short novel. Ostensibly recording his experiences for the benefit of a young cat brought into the household, Foudini tells of a perilous kittenhood after his mother died; adoption by a couple he calls Warm and Pest, who transport him between their city and country houses; his initial fear of their huge dog, Sam; and the gradual growth of respect and love between feline and canine. However, Foudini's fearful personality and his lectures on the dangers of life are more than a series of funny and touching anecdotes (the day the woodchuck got in the house, the time Foudini was almost pulverized in the washing machine, etc.). Schaeffer (The Golden Rope) persuasively interprets a cat's view of the world--and how it differs from a dog's and a human being's. She interjects feline fables into Foudini's dreams (one night Freud's stuffy cat appears to give advice). The story acquires poignancy when Sam becomes ill and doesn't return from the vet's hospital, and Foudini grieves for his gentle and protective friend. In the course of the narrative, Foudini's personality changes from nervous pessimism to a more trusting acceptance of love and domestic contentment. If at first rather cloying, the story gradually becomes affecting. Animal lovers will find it irresistible. 60,000 first printing; Random House audio.
Customer Reviews
Best book ever
I love this book so much. I'm re reading it after many years. I'll add more detail to my review later. I'm prolly going to purchase the electronic book because I want to loan my paper copy to my neighbor who is in the hospital. Foudini and his story are fantastic.
Wonderful story for any pet lover
I listened to this book on tape many years ago and it quickly became one of my favorites to recommend to friends. The story is delightful and heartwarming, and the reader is a pleasure to listen to.