How to Speak Cat (Hardcover)

ma' RRow (translated "I am blessed")

Anyone who has more than a passing acquaintance with cats will quickly recognise the basic premise of this book -- the ironic counterpoint between, on the one hand, the anthropomorphising tendency to bestow human thoughts and emotions on animals which makes domestic pets such a comfort to those humans whose need for companionship finds fulfilment in a small, manageable and relatively undemanding form, and, on the other, the lurking paranoia which suggests that the balance of power is in fact entirely the other way, that the relationship exists entirely for the convenience of the animal, whose aim is to train the owner in the provision of its wants -- food, shelter, attention, exercise.

To say that Alexandra Sellers adopts the paranoia theory would be an absurdly simplistic view of a bo! ok which has resonances going far beyond the suggestion that, as far as feline pets are concerned, we are not the owners but the owned. SPOKEN CAT follows with rigorous correctness the format of a language primer -- the kind which readers of a certain age will recognise as having accompanied their first stumbling attempts to master French or German. Section one contains nine grammar lessons built around everyday situations, headed by a short narrative for study and accompanied by the requisite vocabulary. Section two concerns tonality -- Cat is primarily a tonal language, with tonal patterns one of the main carriers of meaning. Sections three and four -- supporting the notion that no language can be properly mastered without an understanding of the culture of its native speakers -- deal first with Cat myths and legends, and second, in the essay 'Einstein's Cat', with the influence, both overt and covert which cats have had on human civilisation throughout its history. The tex! t is comprehensively footnoted and illustrated with items w! hich show an impressive range of erudition -- perhaps less surprising when one knows that the author's studies at SOAS brought her a First Class degree in Persian (the language, that is) and Religious Studies.

Supporters of the 'pet as human companion' theory will see in the book the answer to their prayers -- a book which will allow them to enter into meaningful converse with their adored feline friends. Those who subscribe to the paranoia view will find in it confirmation of their worst fears -- proof, finally, that we are not masters of our destiny, Cats are. Those who can read it with a little more detachment will find far more valuable insights, into the limitations of the academic method, the nature of language, and the very structure of human thought. To reveal more would be to give the game away; suffice it to say that the book is multi-faceted, multi- levelled, and full of the kind of humour which turns one's thinking upside down. Buy it, enjoy it, and recommend it ! to your friends.