Edeet Ravel

****I recieved this book free from Penguin Exclusive Firstreads****

What a journey...a journey no parent ever wants to take. "The Cat" by Edeet Ravel, propels the reader into one woman's grief over the loss of her 11 year old son.

I found the beginning of the book slightly confusing, with Elise the central character, rambling on and jumping from one topic to the next....until my brain clicked in that this was written this way on purpose. The author was pulling us into the vortex of emotions show more of a grieving mother: sadness, fear, denial, anger, defeat. The fact that it was jumbled and confusing was just re-enforcing her state of mind. I thought the fact that her son's name is never mentioned and is only ever referred to as "my son" or "our son" was one of the most heart wrenching parts and spoke volumes. The ending of the book left me a little unsatisfied....I found it rather unrealistic and felt that it didn't match the tone of the rest of the book.

Overall, the book was extremely well written and as the story progressed I enjoyed it more and more. This is a book that will linger in your subconscious long after you finish reading it.....

This would make a fantastic Book Club read.
Enjoy! :) show less

The opening page of this book grabbed me...hard! However, in the end, it was a let down.

Daniel and our narrator, Dana, fall in love and marry. A few years later, while completing his mandatory military service, Daniel disappears. Eleven years go by, and Dana continues to wait for him, publishing a full page newspaper ad each year saying she will never stop waiting.

The story is interesting. Dana is a Jewish citizen of Israel who supports the Palestinian cause, attending and photographing show more demonstrations. She has a number of quirky friends and neighbours and the story kept my interest. However, the ending is soap opera like. It seems unlikely that it took so long to find someone staying nearby. And Daniel's reasons for leaving -- and staying away -- stretched my credibility way too far. Too bad, because it ruined what was, up 'il then, a pretty good read. show less

Edeet Ravel's new novel, The Cat, tells the story of a single mother whose son is killed in a car accident. Beginning shortly after Elise returns from the hospital, the story is weighted down with an overwhelming grief. Already solitary by nature and her upbringing, Elise wants nothing more than to join her son in death, but the presence of her son's cat prevents her; she knows he would want her to care for Pursie. And so, painfully, Elise continues to live and slowly finds herself drawn show more back into the living world despite herself.

As you might imagine, this isn't a fun or comfortable read. There are stark and unforgiving emotions on display. I have a son just a few years younger than Elise and, like them, my son and I went to the Humane Society one afternoon to adopt a cat. But the emotions Ravel describe ring so horribly true that I don't think one needs to identify with the main character so much as to identify with her humanity and the pain she's enduring. Despite the subject matter, I enjoyed The Cat. Elise is prickly and unfriendly, but she's also capable of kindness and understanding. And the book ends on a note of hopefulness. show less

So did I decide to read this book because of the title? Absolutely. And, I'm ok with that.

This book made it's way into my hands by way of a Goodreads giveaway. The writing is lean and told solely from the perspective of single mother Elise. It's pages are filled with her expressions of grief following the death of her eleven-year-old son. She doesn't want to live. Pain comes each time she finds herself awaking to a new day without her beloved son. Pain comes with the knowledge that her show more suffering is a mere blip in the grand scheme of things. The rest of the world moves forward and Elise reluctantly survives so her son's cat may be taken care of.

I loved the natural flow of the author's writing but I was disappointed by the oddly tidy ending. show less