Pallavi Aiyar
2012 by St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 1250014484 (ISBN13: 9781250014481)
I borrowed this book from my Public Library.
Cover art and illustrations for Pallavi Aiyar’s Chinese Whiskers are quite lovely, and those are what got me to check out the book. And I read it...all the way through...even though the characters are cats. I’ve had cats living with me, and dogs, and gerbils and horses. I truly enjoy the company and antics of my four-footed friends. But I'm not fond of animal personification, and this book is no exception.
I appreciate the study presented of Chinese society, with political and economic upheavals; the writing and story development are all good. But when the cats were commenting and offering opinions on this....Really? Many scenes have these felines responding in a typical catty way, but in others, they are nearly erudite and display emotions on a level that I just couldn’t buy into: being intrigued about their family progenitors I found quite peculiar.
But I credit the author for her writing expertise, which had me reading to the end when I would have otherwise put the book down after the first few chapters. This is a well-written book, and if you don’t mind your major characters being domestic pets, then you’ll find it a good read.
Ms. Aiyar has written several books—without animal characters. Check out her Web site.
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