Indispensable Cat

by J.C. Suares

"A cat book with class, this sumptuously produced, highly literate collection of felinity as represented in art, literature, and photography is sure to elicit purrs", raved Publishers Weekly when this BOMC Selection was published in 1982. 70 full-color reproductions.

Genres: Cats, Nonfiction, Art

191 pages, Hardcover

First published May 13, 1987

About the author

Jean-Claude Suàres (March 30, 1942 – July 30, 2013) was an artist, illustrator, editor, and creative consultant to many publications, and the first Op-Ed page art director at The New York Times.

More information: Wikipedia

Reviews

[George Ilsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A large format book that remind us that our complex feelings towards cats have been percolating for ages. The best aspect of this book are the range of portraits, posters, advertising, photos, drawings, and sketches, some contemporary and others from previous centuries. Photos include Einstein with cat, Picasso with cat, Hemingway with his many-toed little fur-monsters. So many cats.

There are short essays as well; cats as companions, cats in advertising, movie cats, cats as symbols; but the real star of this show is the art, everything from David Hockney to Renoir and the ever-prolific Anonymous. There is a scattering of literary selections, including the mandatory Kipling (The Cat That Walked By Himself) and a frequently reprinted Japanese folk tale from Lafcadio Hearn (The Boy Who Drew Cats and Other Japanese Fairy Tales).

Recommended for anyone who is fond of cats, which means, of course, everyone. After all, cats invented the internet and deserve a bit of attention.

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I am not a friend, and I am not a servant. I am the Cat who walks by himself, and I wish to come into your Cave."-----Rudyard Kipling

This is a coffee table book with some substance to it. It examines the domestic cat's relationship with humans throughout the ages. It features beautiful photos and other portraits by the world's foremost artists and excerpts from the tributes and writings of famous cat-lovers and authors. The compilation of writings includes those by Mark Twain, Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, Charles Dickens, Sir Walter Scott, William Butler Yeats, and many others. I was disappointed that Thomasina by Paul Gallico or the wonderful movie that was based on that book were not included in the mentions.

They have been both revered and feared like no other animal and this book examines why people react so strongly to them. A must-read for Cat-lovers!

https://rebekahsreadingsandwatchings....