What We Thought: The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje

The book club discussion emphasized how much freedom the three pre-adolescent boys -- main characters in the story -- enjoyed on board the Oransay. They were unsupervised, for the most part; took advantage of the run of a cruise ship; and suffered little consequences of their actions.

 

Book club members contrasted the boys’ coming of age stories with the likelihood of such activities today. Now children are closely regulated and supervised. Young children would never be dropped off to travel alone on a long ocean voyage without a strict schedule and accountability. People spoke fondly about their own lives growing up and how they were able to freely roam for extended periods of time. As long as they were home in time for dinner and not caught doing anything forbidden, everyone was satisfied. There was also talk about the secret lives of children.

 

Although the book is fictional, the author actually did travel as a young boy on the real-life Oronsay from Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) to London. Ondaatje says that the characters and events in the book are not real, but one could wonder how much in life is remembered and how much is imagined? It might be that people can’t or don’t wish to be certain of their own life story. This is a great story for reflection about childhood behavior and the effect it has on adult life. A quote from The Cat's Table:

"Over the years, confusing fragments, lost corners of stories, have a clearer meaning when seen in new light, a different place."

Have you read The Cat's Table? Please tell us your thoughts. You do not have to be a member of the group to comment on the blog!

This Month's Selection: The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje

The Cat's Table

by Michael Ondaatje

In the early 1950s, an eleven-year-old boy in Colombo boards a ship bound for England. At mealtimes he is seated at the “cat’s table”—as far from the Captain’s Table as can be—with a ragtag group of “insignificant” adults and two other boys, Cassius and Ramadhin. As the ship crosses the Indian Ocean, the boys tumble from one adventure to another, bursting all over the place like freed mercury. But there are other diversions as well: they are first exposed to the magical worlds of jazz, women, and literature by their eccentric fellow travelers, and together they spy on a shackled prisoner -- his crime and fate a galvanizing mystery that will haunt them forever.

By turns poignant and electrifying, The Cat’s Table is a spellbinding story about the magical, often forbidden, discoveries of childhood, and a lifelong journey that begins unexpectedly with a spectacular sea voyage.

Have you read this? Read along with the Afternoon Book Club and comment on the discussion post next week!