Кошачья карма

by Christopher Moore, Max Nemtsov (Translator)

Back in 1987 I had yet to figure out that I was better at writing funny stories than scary ones. I had been sending horror stories to mainstream magazines who rewarded me with a stack of rejection slips, many of which included a scribbled "A little too weird for our readers."

My next step was to send these stories out to the men's magazines, who included "horror stories" in their listings in the Writer's Market. Once again I was rewarded with a stack of rejection slips with this "You write very well, but we do not publish any stories that do not include at least three explicit sex scenes." (By this time I'd papered most of my bathroom with rejection slips.) Ah-ha! I said. I shall write an erotic fable. Cat's Karma came out of that effort. Actually, after no one accepted the story I cleaned out the explicit sex scenes so I could show this story to my friends without them thinking I was a hopeless horndog, and this version is the end result. -- Christopher Moore

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Fantasy, Horror, Comedy

12 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Christopher Moore is an American writer of absurdist fiction. He grew up in Mansfield, OH, and attended Ohio State University and Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, CA.

Moore's novels typically involve conflicted everyman characters suddenly struggling through supernatural or extraordinary circumstances. Inheriting a humanism from his love of John Steinbeck and a sense of the absurd from Kurt Vonnegut, Moore is a best-selling author with major cult status.

Reviews

[Ritika · Rating 3 out of 5]

An odd little, kind of fable-styled story.

[Tom M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being only 12 pages, the plot is basic: Chang is a fisherman who's not the best, and accepts lower pay for his beginning-to-rot fish. Chang has a cat called Ling-Ling, for whom he brings the day's best fish. A prosperous boat owner approaches him saying that he admired his work, for little pay, and never complained. He offered his daughter for marriage. They get married, but the main fish merchant is jealous because he had tried to court the boat owner's daughter for marriage and was refused.

The spoiler: He kills Chang's wife and the cat with poisoned beef while Chang was stuck at sea in an overnight storm. Chang returns, crushed, and that night has a dream featuring a hybrid of his wife and his cat that becomes sexual. He later lives alone, but people hear cat noises that have elements of human voices as well.

This was a weird little short story. It almost felt like there could have been a little more in the plot but where do you really go with a feline-human sex apparition?

[Sedna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dura giusto giusto la mezzoretta di decompressione prima della nanna.
E meno male, direi.

Secondo me, a giudicare dalla quantità di parole spese per giustificare genesi-metamorfosi-pubblicazione dei racconti in questione, se ne è vergognato un po' pure l'autore.

[Kittaroo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Raschiando il fondo del barile...

[Tony Rampling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bizarre little story.

[Darth · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a short story prefaced with an almost equal length warning, telling us how bad it is, I liked it quite a bit. Super fast read, and not like anything you are likely to come across.

[Naomi · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you are a furry, consider giving this a read.

[Cristina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Storie parecchio brevi ma divertenti.

[La Strega · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quello delle due novelle che ho letto assieme ("Il Karma del Gatto" e "Nostra Signora delle Calze a Rete") è un Christopher Moore indubbiamente diverso da quello che conoscevo. Meno "gigione" e forse un po' più profondo.
Delle due novelle ho preferito "Nostra Signora delle Calze a Rete".
Mi è sembrato che "Il Karma del Gatto" sia stata scritta per il solo gusto di metterla su carta, il che non costituisce ovviamente una pecca. Si tratta di una storia molto breve, ma davvero molto piacevole e scorrevolissima da leggere.

[Roberta · Rating 3 out of 5]

E con il giro odierno in Mondadori ho scoperto che l'autore del divertentissimo Vangelo secondo Biff è bravo anche nei racconti seri. Bello il testo in stile orientale che da il titolo al volumetto, ma ancora più divertente la seconda storia, che prende in giro gli stereotipi sudamericani sui narcotrafficanti e sull'eccessiva religiosità.

[Cookie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Strange short story.

[Shadallark · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short story written in the fashion of a fable or an old fairy tale.

[Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very odd story. I enjoyed it, it made me want to get a cat!

[Phil Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

not a bad short story