Varjak Paw

I'm not a cat person but something about Varjak compels me - maybe it's the way that he's really a cat, not a human (juicy mice and so forth). The story has the relentless logic and magical occurrences of a fable, accompanied by original writing and unusually strong characterisation. And the eye on the back cover will follow you around...

Fun children's book with some Eastern philosophy thrown in, plenty of adventures, kung-fu-style fighting, Dave McKean illustrations, and a good message as well? Hell yeah! While the book is perfect for children, there is plenty here to love for adults as well. The Gentleman's status in Contessa's house by the end of the book will no doubt be recognized by some of the more mature readers as a paradigm of authoritarian regime; the family's partial complicity in this regime, their fear to upset the status quo, their quiet acceptance of the Gentleman's rules and their refusal to acknowledge what's happening around them (because it doesn't affect them personally!) raise certain moral and social issues worth exploring. I also enjoyed the dig show more at pseudoscientific racism with the Mesopotamian Blues standing in for some sort of Aryan master race: a superior, "special" breed of cats who viewed all others as deficient and even considered Varjak impure because he did not have green eyes like a "true" Mesopotamian ought to. The concept is represented perhaps a tad simplistically - this is a children's book after all - but the idea that some people (or some cats) are inherently better than others is very efficiently deconstructed. Jalal's teachings, especially towards the end, reminded me of Dumbledore's famous "“It's our choices, Harry, that show us what we truly are, far more than our abilities." - an important message that could bear repeating, as far as I'm concerned.

"Aren't we the noblest of cats?"
"We are whatever we choose to be." show less

"Varjak Paw is a Mesopotamian Blue kitten. He lives high up in an old house on a hill. He's never left home, until his grandfather tells him about the Way - a secret martial art for cats. Now Varjak must use the Way to survive in a city full of dangerous dogs, cat gangs, and the strangest of all, the mysterious Vanishings."

Varjak Paw is an absolutely adorable book. It's written for a younger reader, but it's a fun quick read - it took me about an hour and a half - for an adult too.

This was a well written, mythos-styled story. There is some annoying repetition in the story, but I think it is only annoying for an adult, and would work to good effect for the intended audience (children). As the story is told through Varjack Paw's point of view, there are some questions left unanswered, and some parts of the story seem unrealistic (even given acceptance of the thinking-talking cat scenario).

My favorite character would be Cludge, who is the dog, and a hero, in the story. In a book full of cats, I suppose that may or may not mean something.

I saw this book in the store, and the cat on the front cover was so adorable that I had to buy it for my sister. Of course, then I had to read it before giving it to her!
This is definitely a kids' book - not even YA, but for younger children.
However - it's also an excellent book. McKean's illustrations are perfect for the characters and the story.
Varjak is a young Mesopotamian Blue cat who's been brought up to think he's something special. However, when his owner disappears and a strange and sinister man appears in his family's house, a dream connection with his legendary ancestor leads him to venture into the dangerous outside world, where he learns to reevaluate his priorities - as well as questing to save his family from the danger show more he's sure they're in.
It's a sweet story - but it's also got some genuinely spooky elements - and it's definitely in the realm of the fantastic.
Oh yeah, and did I mention how excellent Dave McKean's illustrations are? He rocks! show less

While Ghost Knight by Cornelia Funke was our Oregon audiobook, Varjak Paw by S.F. Said was our Washington (and specifically, Mt Rainier) book. It is about a young Abyssinian Blue house cat who must leave the safety of the house to find help after the old lady dies.

In terms of basic animal adventure, Varjak Paw reminds me most of Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams. The history of the Abyssinian Blues is told through a rich oral history — similar to many a creation story but from a feline point of view.

On a more basic level, it is the tale of a cat experiencing the outside. He is in search of a great and fierce creature — a dog — but he doesn't know what a dog is. So he mistakes automobiles for dogs. This is one of many errors he show more makes on his adventure.

Along the way Varjak becomes aware of a mystery affecting all the alley cats. The cats are going missing. In their place is a horrific replacement. These monstrosities are some of the most disturbing things in a children's audio I've ever heard. But they are an important part of the story.

To make the experience of this audio all the more special, it's performed by George Guidall. Normally I listen to his readings of adult series: The Navajo Mysteries by Tony Hillerman and the Cat Who books by Lilian Jackson Braun. Varjak Paw because of the emphasis on creation myths and spiritual enlightenment and because it is cast with cats, is the prefect blending of Guidall's other work. show less

Book no 1 of the 16 cat books

http://theliteraturevixen.booklikes.com/post/835048/the-16-cat-books

Varjak Paw is the only one in his family of noble Mesopotamian Blue cats whose eyes arent green and he is constantly teased and ridiculed for this reason.His older brother even claims this is the reason their owner-the Contessa has stoppedvisiting them and only stays in her room.

One who doesnt make fun of him is his grandfather the Elder Paw and Varjak loves to listen to him tell stories about their ancestor Jalals adventures.

One day a strange Gentleman arrives with two ominiously black cats and takes the contessa away. Varjak and his grandfather are the only ones who thinks to question the weird events,but the others thinks things are just show more fine-as long as the gentleman keeps feeding them.

The Elder Paw tells Varjak that he needs to go find something called a dog,because its the only thing that can scare the Gentleman away so while the Elder Paw distracts the black cats Varjak sneaks over the wall but he knows they killed his grandfather.

In the end Varjak makes it to the city where he makes friends with two cats who teaches him the ways of the city.But even the city has dangers like rival cat gangs and cats mysteriously going missing.And he still needs to find a dog.

And then there are the Dreams....

This was a great book with actual depth to it and not just a cutesy books about cats.For a middle grade book it actually had some dark themes.

Maybe its not as dark as Felidae but it does feature some unsettling things that had you wonder even at the end of the book what was going on. The fact you only see the story unfold from a cats viewpoint makes some things unclear and makes the villain the Gentleman seem even more twisted than if we had viewed it from a human characters viewpoint.

Varjak was a symphatetic character even if he was far from forceful in his actions and when he finally through his experiences in the city takes charge of things he does suffer a lapse towards the end of the book and falls back into his old role.He gets better though. So its a coming of age story too.


The others characters are cats with some human traits but I never felt they were humans in cats bodies.There were just enough catlike qualities to make them interesting.



There is a sequel called Varjak the Outlaw wich I plan to read. show less