An insightful accounting of a boy's growing awareness of his unique personhood, at first seen through the eyes of a diverse group of fellow passengers, and then through his awakening mind's eye. I would definitely want to be seated at the Cat's Table! ( )

Gulped this book down, a tale of two families in "Cataract City", a.k.a. Niagara Falls. One man succeeds, whatever that means, another fights his disadvantages. The descriptions of the city place you right there, the grit and the falls mist washing over your face.
Very well written - you don't pause and admire, but you run right along with the author, enjoying yourself all the way. Recommended. ( )

Initially seemed merely charming, but it does become more than that. ( )

My first book by this author, and while his prose is beautiful, the plot is meandering and often dull. Tween boys stuck on a ship voyage with little supervision get up to the occasional hijinks. ( )

“There is a story, always ahead of you. Barely existing. Only gradually do you attach yourself to it and feed it. You discover the carapace that will contain and test your character. You find in this way the path of your life.” – Michael Ondaatje, The Cat’s Table

In 1954. eleven-year-old Michael is traveling by sea from Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) to England, where he will rejoin with his mother after staying with an uncle. Onboard the Oronsay, he meets two other similar age children, Cassius and Ramadhin. Only minimally supervised, they become mischief-makers. When dining, they are seated with a group of adults at the least prestigious table, known as the Cat’s Table. It is told through Michael’s eyes, and there are “flash-forwards” to his later life, where he recounts what has happened to some of the people he met on the voyage. What appears at first to be a series of short interludes told about an assortment of eccentric characters becomes more complex and interrelated as the narrative progresses.

This book is an excellent example of a journey that becomes a rite of passage from childhood to adulthood. As Michael looks back on his voyage, he discovers lessons that escaped him at the time, but has influenced his thinking. A few of the curious characters that come together in this intriguing story include:
- Michael’s distant older cousin, Emily, who is also changed profoundly by the journey
- The Hyderabad Mind, a member of the Jankla Troupe of shipboard circus performers
- A botanist that oversees a garden in the bowels of the ship
- A prisoner that walks the deck at night and is observed by the children
- A thief that influences Michael to help him

It will require a bit of patience to read this book, not that it is long (it’s not), but it takes a while for all the separate threads to converge. In the meantime, there are plenty of wonderfully realized colorful characters and juvenile shenanigans to maintain interest. Ondaatje’s writing is top tier and will appeal to fans of literary fiction.
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