From Michael Ondaatje: a stunning new novel?by turns poignant and electrifying?about the magical, often forbidden, discoveries of childhood and a lifelong journey that begins unexpectedly with a sea voyage.
Knopf
October 2011
On Sale: October 4, 2011
256 pages ISBN: 0307700119 EAN: 9780307700117 Hardcover Add to Wish List
In the early 1950s, an eleven-year-old boy in Colombo boards a ship bound for England. At mealtimes he is seated at the โcatโs tableโโas far from the Captainโs Table as can beโwith a ragtag group of โinsignificantโ adults and two other boys, Cassius and Ramadhin. As the ship makes its way across the Indian Ocean, through the Suez Canal, into the Mediterranean, the boys tumble from one adventure to another, bursting all over the place like freed mercury. But there are other diversions as well: one man talks with them about jazz and women, another opens the door to the world of literature. The narratorโs elusive, beautiful cousin Emily becomes his confidante, allowing him to see himself โwith a distant eyeโ for the first time, and to feel the first stirring of desire. Another Catโs Table denizen, the shadowy Miss Lasqueti, is perhaps more than what she seems. And very late every night, the boys spy on a shackled prisoner, his crime and his fate a galvanizing mystery that will haunt them forever.
As the narrative moves between the decks and holds of the ship and the boyโs adult years, it tells a spellbinding storyโby turns poignant and electrifyingโabout the magical, often forbidden, discoveries of childhood and a lifelong journey that begins unexpectedly with a spectacular sea voyage.
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