Jules reviewed The wild road by Gabriel King
Review of 'The wild road' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
I was given this book as a present by a dear friend and can honestly say it’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever read. Like the Wild Roads themselves the journey it takes you on is long and winding but feels effortless. The scents, sounds and sensations its heroes experience make it easy to believe that the author really is taking dictation directly from a cat, and the characters will be instantly familiar to any cat lover; I’ve met Cy and Pertelot, and am living with Ragnar’s photonegative. That isn’t to say that it’s an easy read, it doesn’t shy away from predation, death, sickness and animal cruelty that make up the harsher aspects of cats’ lives, and both this book and its sequel The Golden Cat contain scenes of animal suffering that I found very difficult to read. But I’m sure I will come back to this …
I was given this book as a present by a dear friend and can honestly say it’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever read. Like the Wild Roads themselves the journey it takes you on is long and winding but feels effortless. The scents, sounds and sensations its heroes experience make it easy to believe that the author really is taking dictation directly from a cat, and the characters will be instantly familiar to any cat lover; I’ve met Cy and Pertelot, and am living with Ragnar’s photonegative. That isn’t to say that it’s an easy read, it doesn’t shy away from predation, death, sickness and animal cruelty that make up the harsher aspects of cats’ lives, and both this book and its sequel The Golden Cat contain scenes of animal suffering that I found very difficult to read. But I’m sure I will come back to this book again and again and would thoroughly recommend it to anyone who suspects that cats have their own secret agendas and much more complex lives than we’re aware of.