Valerie Martin

Anton and Cecil are brothers, but the two cats could not be more unalike. Cecil is an adventurous black cat, big and bold, and instead of being scared by the tales of cats being kidnapped to go on ships he rather thinks it would be an adventure. Anton, a small gray cat, really only loves music and can't even be bothered to catch food most of the time. Despite Cecil's brief trips to sea on a fishing ship, it is Anton who is catnapped and stolen away and Cecil who must venture forth on a show more hopeless quest to find them.

As they cross the ocean, a mystical prophecy of finding what they've lost when they see a cat's eye keeps them going as they endure shipwrecks, storms, pirates, deserted islands, terrifying creatures and a whale who may or may not be friendly.

This story felt very old-fashioned to me, but I enjoyed it even so. Although some of the publicity bills it as an adventure tale, readers picking it up and expecting thrills and excitement will be disappointed. It's an older genre of animal story, where the animals are more anthropomorphous and the action is gentler, even when it involves something that could be scary like shipwrecks or pirates. It reminded me of the Doctor Dolittle stories with their special quality of mild danger, gentle humor, and enjoyment of simple storytelling.

Verdict: This won't be for every kid, most of whom prefer the more genre-ized modern fiction but if you have fans of Kate DiCamillo they may enjoy this return to an older, gentler storytelling tradition.

ISBN: 9781616202460; Published October 8, 2013 by Algonquin Young Readers/Workman Publishing; ARC provided by the publisher at ALA annual 2013 show less

I’ve been trying to write this review for a while now and it refuses to come together. So here is a quote that I think best encapsulates this story of enslavement (both literal and figurative) and the twisted relationship between men and women and slaves and masters in 1820s Louisiana:

“He wishes I might die of cholera, and fears that she may instead. I wish he might be killed while shooting rebellious negroes. She wishes us both dead.” (page 63)

What Martin does most brilliantly is to show more depict the internalization of brutality and to create an anti-heroine and narrator so selfish and self-absorbed that she fails to comprehend the hypocrisy in which she lives. An uncomfortable read and a worthy Orange Prize winner by an author I look forward to reading more of. show less

What a wonderful treat this book is! I tend to forget Valerie Martin. On the one hand, this means that I end up missing her novels. On the other hand, I get to rediscover her often which sort of fulfills my fantasies of re-reading various books & authors for the first time all over again.

I spent most of my twenties & thirties in theaters. First as an actor & later as a director with my own production company. Acting was fun because it provided me with an opportunity to explore sides of show more myself that I tended to avoid & to do things I'd probably never ever do in my real life. Directing, however, was my ultimate love in the theater. Where else do you get to interrogate text prior to making it get up and walk around?

The Confessions of Edward Day is the memoir of Edward Day, an actor reminiscing about his salad days in the New York theater world of the 1970s where everyone was a student of Stella Adler or Sanford Meisner & living hand-to-mouth from audition to audition waiting for that big break. Edward Day is the definitive actor, a narcissist whose self-awareness is so thin that he can't see himself. Edward stands so far outside himself in observation of his emotions as material for his acting that he is essentially a non-person. Scarily, he is in many ways the most complete person in this tale of doubling & its consequences.

Ms. Martin is asking some big questions here: What is owed to someone who saves your life? What does it mean to be both an actor & a person? If you have a doppleganger, which one of you is real?

Ms. Martin's writing is, as always, superb. She manages to create characters who suck you into their worlds. She writes with a delicate menace that is reminiscent of Patricia Highsmith, but less bound to the thriller genre. This is a wonderfully written, compelling story that ended far too soon. show less

Deceptively simple, this is a striking and hypnotic novel that might easily be read in one sitting. The first person narrator here is a unique addition to contemporary fictions' looks at slavery, and Martin's relaxed style is an effective tool for not only engaging readers, but surprising them with their own sympathies by the end. Unlike some contemporary looks at slavery, the book is neither overwritten or simply a rewrite of the more well-known slave narratives. It is, however, engaging show more and worth reading. Additionally, Martin's style and the short sections make this a book that might be ideal for young adult reading clubs or programs, and at the very leas a book that both young adults and their parents can approach together, which seems a rare find in literary fiction. In short, this is absolutely recommended----a striking surprise. show less