Cat Is His Breed, Mistry Is His Read

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Misty when his harness and leash were well-red.

I know it’s been only two months since I guest-blogged here, but, I, Misty the cat who lives with Dave, need to opine again. Why?

First of all, it’s Thanksgiving weekend in the United States, and an American cat can bat around cranberries for only so long before getting bored. Also, Dave was reading and really liking Rohinton Mistry’s novel A Fine Balance, so I had to read it, too. Especially because the India-born Canadian author has almost the same name as me, and the book’s title reminds all felines that we have “a fine balance” when walking atop fences, windowsills, the backs of chairs, and humans’ Mohawk haircuts.

The India-set A Fine Balance is quite a book. Published in 1995 — when Janis Ian should’ve re-released her song “At Seventeen” to mark the birthday of 1978-born cartoon kitty Garfield — it’s one of those sweeping novels that combine a focus on very interesting characters with a focus on often-fraught societal and/or sociopolitical matters.

Other novels with that kind of mix? George Eliot’s Middlemarch, John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude, Isabel Allende’s The House of the Spirits, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible, and Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom, to name a few. Oh, and Tolstoy’s War and Peace and Cat Food With Added Nutrients.

Also intriguing about A Fine Balance is the way it first introduces its four main characters in the book’s present before diving deeply into the fascinating, at-times-tragic back stories of each of them. In other words, it wasn’t totally chronological like my first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, 11th, 12th, and 13th naps this morning. Yes, I, Misty the cat, need to eventually read Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep to make my snoozing less fragmented.

Detective novels — you gotta love ’em. Reminds me of the sleuthing I sometimes do during my daily leashed walks. Earlier this month, I investigated why my apartment complex looked the same despite the clocks changing the night before. Actually, Daylight Saving Time means nothing to me because I don’t make bank deposits during business hours.

Say, was Sherlock Holmes married to Katie Holmes or was that Tom Cruise?

Of course, Cruise played Jack Reacher in two movies before Alan Ritchson spectacularly took on that role in the TV series. Dave and I are looking forward to reading the latest Reacher book published last month. It’s The Secret by Lee Child and Andrew Child, and it’s the 28th novel in the page-turning Reacher series. My favorite of that bunch? 61 Hours, which chronicled how long it took me to keyboard this blog post without opposable thumbs.

Dave and I also want to read the September 2023-published The Running Grave, the seventh installment of the excellent series starring private investigators Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott. It’s by J.K. Rowling (writing under the Robert Galbraith name), who’s obviously best known for her seven Harry Potter books that were made into eight movies. And they say cats are bad at math…

But what about long-ago novels? You can’t get much longer-ago than Murasaki Shikibu’s 1,000-year-old The Tale of Genji, which I ordered online when it first came out. Surprisingly strong WiFi signal for the 11th century.

Then there was Miguel de Cervantes’ 17th-century classic Don Quixote, whose title character rode a horse rather than a cat when tilting at windmills. Sancho Panza was his sidekick, which reminds me that Nikki Haley is known for saying “I don’t kick sideways” as she and most other Republican presidential candidates mostly avoid criticizing Donald Trump — who’s leading the GOP field despite ranking 8,000,000,001th on a list of the best people on 8,000,000,000-population Earth. The justice-dodging Trump is notorious for not reading books but does like the abridged version of Crime and Punishment. The one titled Crime.

I’ll conclude by noting that if one holds Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment in one hand and Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov in the other hand, it’s not “a fine balance” because the latter novel is heavier. Something to do with having more pages.

All comments will be answered in English or with a lot of meowing.

My literary-trivia book is described and can be purchased here: Fascinating Facts About Famous Fiction Authors and the Greatest Novels of All Time.

In addition to this weekly blog, I write the 2003-started/award-winning “Montclairvoyant” topical-humor column every Thursday for Montclair Local. The latest piece — about a school-district forum and a controversial baseball-field decision — is here.

91 thoughts on “Cat Is His Breed, Mistry Is His Read”

  1. Oh Misty, nothing escapes your watchful eyes.
    Speaking of Tom Cruise, remember ” The Firm “, the book ? The movie was with Tom Cruise.
    Now I am reading John Grisham`s latest and continuation of The Firm book, “The Exchange.”

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  2. I would have recommended “The Old Man and the Sea” to you, Misty, when I was partway through. But I have read enough now to tell you that there is no fish dinner for anybody at the end of the line, despite the size and strength of the catch when first brought boatside.

    Knowing cats, I think that without the prospect of a big feast at the end, getting there is no kind of treat. Pass.

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      • Fixed!

        Ha, jhNY. 😂 Thank you! That was one LARGE potential cat dinner in “The Old Man and the Sea” novel. “To Have or Have Not” said dinner? Your comment answered that question.

        Ernest Hemingway was definitely a fan of felines.

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        • Yes he was– as was William S. Burroughs, of infamous “Naked Lunch” authorship. He wrote a slim book titled “The Cat Inside”, a “moving and witty discourse on cats”, sayeth the back cover. I liked it…goes interesting, occasionally dark places, like its topic animal.

          Gerard de Nerval (1808-1855), who I’ve also read (“Aurelia”), walked a pet lobster in the Palais Royale in Paris.
          According to his friend and biographer Theophile Gautier, de Nerval remarked:
          “Why should a lobster be any more ridiculous than a dog? …or a cat, or a gazelle, or a lion, or any other animal that one chooses to take for a walk? I have a liking for lobsters. They are peaceful, serious creatures. They know the secrets of the sea, they don’t bark, and they don’t gnaw upon one’s monadic privacy like dogs do. And Goethe had an aversion to dogs, and he wasn’t mad.”

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          • Glad to hear that William S. Burroughs had an interest in cats. 🙂

            “…goes interesting, occasionally dark places, like its topic animal” — great line!

            A lobster for a pet? Why not! I like Gerard de Nerval’s style and quote.

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  3. I don’t know how I missed this, Mistry, although there’s a chance you’ve slept enough to still think it’s Sunday, like our cat. You have a great collection of books here. The Big Sleep is one that I read long before seeing the movie, which I also enjoy. You need to pay attention to that one, lest you nod off and forget where you were – not that cats do that too often.

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  5. Hello Misty! Always one of the better posts when you’re the author. (No need to meowtion this to Dave)

    First, Sherlock Holmes was married to Tom Cruise. Now that that’s sorted, I feel I must tell you that there are a multitude of furbending cat detective novels available. Why on Goodreads alone there are 39. Some of the titles are “The Cat’s Eye” catching. Just ask Margaret! https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/97440.Cat_Detectives

    Dave might not chose to read one, as he may perceive they are not up to his hoity toity standards. In that case feel free to shed more fur…(erm) light on the topic. There’s also the clawssic shredding of secret papers (were those important?) and the obvious artistic “fur”niture renderings.

    Thank you for your words. They are “A fine Balance” you need to keep when attacking Dave’s computer mouse.

    Yours truly, Jeep

    (Resa’s cat)

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  6. Misty – you have the best posts full of great information and diversity of topics.

    “A Fine Balance” reminded me of a long-ago read (I think I was 16) that opened my eyes to international and political narratives:

    Three Daughters of Madame Laing” by Pearl Buck revolves around the lives of three daughters who belong to Madame Liang. Madame Liang faces a challenging situation when her husband takes a concubine. Determined to forge her own path, she opens an upscale restaurant and sends her daughters to America for education. Despite the success of her restaurant, Madame Liang must maintain a low profile due to the presence of influential leaders from the People’s Republic, ensuring her daughters’ safety and future prospects. The story delves into the complexities of their relationships, their individual struggles, and their journey towards self-discovery. Pearl Buck’s narrative is rich in detail, providing a vivid portrayal of the characters and their surroundings. The themes of this narrative include the complexities of love and marriage, the pursuit of independence and empowerment, and the tension between tradition and modernity in Chinese society.

    Thank you again, Misty, for an most excellent post.

    I must leave a quote:

    “It is not poverty that is to be feared, but the lack of balance between riches and poverty.” Pearl S. Buck, Three Daughters of Madame Laing

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  9. In some circles Cervantes’ Don Quixote is still proclaimed as the first novel ever written while The Tale of Genji is about 500 years older. Must have something to do with the Eurocentric roots of contemporary academic’s. Take care of your human and don’t leave him off the leash in an unknown neighborhood or he might never find his way back.

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  10. Hi Dave and Misty,

    I’m not sure why I’m so eager to recommend ”A Fine Balance”. Sure, I loved every page, but every page also ripped my heart out a little bit. I don’t know why I’d wish that kind of pain on my friends, but it’s great!

    Is it just Misty who is yet to read “The Big Sleep”? If it’s also on your TBR, Dave, I highly recommend that one too. Though not so much need for the tissues.

    I’m not normally a fan of detective novels, but I just finished “The Moonstone” by Wilkie Collins. I greatly enjoyed big chunks of it, but found it got a bit rambly towards the end, and found some of the whodunit bit just silly. But they’re minor gripes on what was mostly a really fun read.

    As far as I know, Sherlock Holmes was never married to Tom Cruise 🙂

    Sue

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    • Thank you, Sue! Maybe Tom Cruise was married to Dr. Watson? 🤔

      “A Fine Balance” IS frequently very depressing, but SO good. Life for many people is of course very depressing, and this is one of the great novels that reflect that. Thanks again for recommending it!

      Wilkie Collins, like a number of 19th-century writers, could indeed ramble on. But I love his work — with my favorite “The Woman in White.”

      I’ve read “The Big Sleep” (even though Misty hasn’t) and thought it was excellent.

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  12. Ha! So my late Bud at wasn’t lying when he said he’d gotten into my Shakespeare at night. Misty, you’ve proven that cats do read. Quite an excellent review! The book sounds good, and you look so adorable in your red harness.

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  13. Misty is such a cutie! Dave, I am so happy you allowed Misty to guest post again. Red makes his grey fur pop.
    “I don’t make bank deposits during business hours.” LOL
    “A Fine Balance” sounds like such a captivating read!

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  15. Smart Misty! We share the same fascination for sleuthing 🙂 After Dave posted about novels set in hotels, I couldn’t resist delving into the murder mystery that took place in room 622 in a luxury resort in the Swiss Alps. Sorry to have ignored you Misty, but I couldn’t put down Joel Dicker’s novel, The Enigma of Room 622. Though I must admit that your help in sniffing out the strange events would’ve helped me to figure out who’d done it 🙂

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