Solos Reise

by Joy Smith Aiken

Libro usado en buenas condiciones, por su antiguedad podria contener señales normales de uso

Genres: Cats, Fantasy, Animals, Fiction, Childrens, Animal Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[Kat (Lost in Neverland) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my....what a (beautiful? disturbing? sad?) ending! Review to come.

"Reviewed for the "Reviews from Depth of Time" Marathon."

This book was recommended to me by Clare Bell, author of Ratha's Creature and the Ratha series. She recommended it to me because of it's likeness to the Warriors series by Erin Hunter, which is my favorite series of. all. time. It is like the Warriors series in many ways, it's like a much more realistic version of the Warriors series. Realistic as in more focus on the 'mating season', and the 'prills' (female cats. Thank Starclan for the glossary at the back of the book to help me with all the 'cat words' such as prill, bard (male cat), graille (food) etc.).
So, unlike the Warriors series, the cats live in an alley/small field, and they call their small group of ferals a Quorum, which is like another word for 'clan'.
Solo is a kit without his mother, stumbling across three ferals from the Quorum. In spite of being bards, the three cats take the little kitten into their care (reluctantly) and they soon begin to realize Solo is no ordinary cat. He has the uncanny ability to solve problems and grows into an intelligent young cat, destined to be a leader. After tensions rise between the Owners (humans) and the ferals, Solo must decide whether of not to leave their homeland to find the mountains, or stay where they are and deal with the coming danger.

I didn't like how the prills were so isolated from the bards, like how they couldn't fight and the bards wanted nothing to do with their own kits. Towards the end of the novel, that's all changed, thanks to Kitty-Kitty (imagine a strong woman's rights activist) and Solo.
The disturbing ending caught me off guard in the end, but it was truthful, and for that I applaud Mrs. Joy Smith Aiken, and I wish her book was more popular, same with Ratha's Creature by Clare Bell.

I recommend this book for slightly older Warriors fans, and people who love a good cat story.

[Mikana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my all time favourite book, one I have not been able to track down on ebook (if you know where I can purchase it please message me). I have a copy with a torn cover and the pages are threatening to fall out, but I have loved this story since my first read in my teen years, and is the only book that I have read several times and enjoyed every time.

It's a tale about a cat who is born a stray, and ends up becoming a leader. Its a beautiful tale, and it's a shame this author never wrote anything else.

[Lone Wolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘Solo’s Journey’ is the story of feral cat Solo. He grows up in a colony living close to humans and scavenging food from from them, but feels as though they should be true wild animals who look after themselves. After their territory is destroyed, he leads the other cats in search of a new home where they can live independently.

The “journey” of the title refers more to Solo’s personal journey of self-discovery than the cats travelling to their new home, which is glossed over in a couple of chapters. There is only one hardship they have to overcome, and no mention of concerns about food, predators, or anything else. The final chapter of the book veers off in a whole new direction, is very depressing, and is essentially unnecessary to the story – I’m not sure why it was included at all.

The cats are given various words in their own language (for example, toms and queens are called “bards” and “prills”), yet they still use human measurements like hours and miles, and sometimes refer to things they would have no concept of, such as switch-blades. The author also doesn’t always get the cat genetics and body-language right – there’s a male calico (and he’s fertile!), and the cats narrow their eyes to show suspicion, as humans would, whereas this is actually a sign of friendliness in cats.

In addition, the name Solo is never explained. He doesn’t live alone, and was not a single kitten. He does end up being the sole survivor of his litter, but he already has the name before that happens.

To sum up, this is not a bad read if you like cats, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend it.

[Clare Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solo's Journey by Joy Smith Aiken

A few days ago, to take a break from the laptop, I picked up Solo's Journey. Intending to sample the first few chapters, I found myself drawn in to the story of Solo, a feral kit who loses his mother and has to find his own way in the feral cat colony. I don't usually read other cat fantasy books, since I write the Ratha series, and I like to keep my slate clean, so to speak.

I picked up Solo out of curiosity, but ended up devouring it in one evening. Gulping books is part of my pattern, since I'm naturally a fast reader. Not all books get devoured in one session, since life inevitably interrupts. Some books are consumed in multiple smaller gulps, but Solo's Journey shoved life aside temporarily. Good books do that.

Sometimes I regret that the hunger for narrative pulls me through the pages so fast, but I am also a re-reader, and sometimes after finishing a novel, I will go right back to the beginning and read it again, allowing me to savor the writer's skill.

Solo's Journey appeared in 1987, according to the copyright date in my hardcover copy, before the Warriors series made the concept of talking cats in feral cat clans wildly popular among kids. Both Solo's Journey and my own Ratha series were too early for this wave, and both suffered for it. However both were reprinted.

I greatly enjoyed Aiken's originality in portraying the feral cat society, especially in her use of invented
onomatopoeic (sounds like what it means, at least to human ears) terms. The words also sound like feline vocalizations “Prill” for a female cat, “bard” for an intact male, “silt” and “siltaa” for solid and liquid waste respectively, and the honorific “Dom” for the dominant male tomcat.

Some of the novel's power may come from real-life experience, as the dedication hints. Aiken mentions a real Solo, and implies that the book may be an apology for an act she regrets. It makes me want to know the real Solo's story, though perhaps it is a sad one.

Although Solo's Journey describes battles between clans in adjacent territories, it moves beyond those conflicts. The inside jacket text says that the book was inspired by Watership Down, and like the rabbit tale, involves destruction of the cats' home ground and a quest to discover a new home. During the journey, however, Solo rises to leadership, finds his gifts, and discovers a new and inspiring purpose. I won't reveal what it is for fear of spoiling the book, but I do urge readers who have enjoyed both Warriors and my Ratha series to go along on Solo's Journey.

CB

[Demi♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved reading this book! Wish I could forget the story and read it again. So far this is my favorite book I've ever read.

[Helen Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have had to buy 3 so that I can keep one at home. The other two are still circulating among friends.
Very good for awareness of the beauties and trials of feral cat life but can be a bit harsh for children when they get to the animal experimentation lab. Of course, that reality is ugly and I guess if we can tell children harsh fairy tales, then it is worth the sadness so that people will come to realize the cowardice of animal testing. The rest is all great and interesting adventure from cats' eyes view.

[Linda A · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favourite books and I don't think I will ever part with it. I have read it several times but I distinctly remember the first time I read it years ago because I just couldn't put it down and I'm not one for reading animal stories except for one other. Joy Smith Aiken builds a story about orphan Solo that keeps the pages turning with a unique cat language for key words in a cat's world. I have my copy but I would love to see it reprinted and back on the shelves.

[Marissa Burt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my favorite book as a girl. I read it over and over again. Joy Aiken Smith invited me into an intricate story-world where cats navigated their own society and embarked on a Watership-Down-esque quest for freedom. I'm almost afraid to re-read it, because it held such a beloved spot in my library and offered younger-me many delightful hours of reading.

[Isabel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Also ein Katzenbuchfan werde ich wohl nie werden, aber für alle die es sind, ist es eine ganz nette, aber nicht überragende Geschichte.

[GoriNori · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing!!! I loved it so much. Read it even if you don't like cats. You will when you are done.

[J. Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the past I've made several attempts to read this book, but I could never get into it. I'm glad I gave it another chance, because it was an enjoyable story.

[happycyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good wholesome book.

[Anna Mattaar · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this book in Dutch, but I'm reviewing it in English because if you can read this review, DON'T READ THE TRANSLATION! It's horrible. It was clearly done in only one hurried pass, not even taking time to look up the words the translator wasn't sure about. (How else do you explain 'waterpad' - literally 'water path' or possibly 'water toad', and not a real word in either case - for what must have been 'waterway'?) And don't even get me started on the sentences. For the record, while something like "Overgrown with shrubs, it was the perfect hiding place" is a valid sentence in English, you can't use the same sentence structure in Dutch. You need the equivalent of "Because it was overgrown..." or possibly "It was overgrown with shrubs: the perfect..." or any of the other perfectly good options. Which this translator obviously didn't know, because he used the literal and grammatically incorrect translation ALL THE TIME.

So. I might have given this one more star had I read it in English, but probably no more than that. Because I recently decided to spend less time on reviews, I'll summarise: Show, don't tell. I don't want a character's personality, fears, and dreams explained to me in half a page of exposition after meeting them for the first time (or at any time, for that matter). Show it through their actions; I thought that was the first writing lesson anyone got.

I'm sure I'd have something to say about the plot if I wasn't so distracted by the writing. So let's just say that, contrary to apparently everyone else, I didn't find it very memorable.

[Charissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up at an 'exchange your old books for a new one left behind by other readers' event at the library. To be honest, I only chose this one because there didn't seem to be anything better. The cover (while pretty in a way) made it seem like a really cliché, really childish novel. I'm very glad I did take it with me because it turned out to be the best read this summer!

Solo's Journey is a book about cats, and specifically about a cat - Solo. In the novel we meet Solo as a young kitten, not yet able to survive without his mother... yet(ok, cliché here) his mother died. He lives in a Quorum - a group of wild cats, and when the bards (male cats) realise he's alone they take care of him in their brusque way. Solo turns out to be an unusual cat. He can see 'auras' of other animals, and also of things, which comes in handy in quite a lot of circumstances.

The cats seem quite believable as cats, have diverse personalities and the novel is well-written. Some 'cat words' are used (humans are called 'Owners' for example, and they have their own words for concrete and cars). It's interesting to see humans through the eyes of wild cats (how the author imagines it to possibly be). The novel doesn't end there. Solo really does go on a journey, and he doesn't do so alone. It reads as a myth in a modern (cat)world.

If you love cats, novels about animals and some 'epic' (in a small way) story, this book could definitely surprise you.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book last when I was still in high schooll, which was quite some time ago. This is the first time I've re-read a book after such a long time has passed and though I remembered less of the plotline than I thought I would, the book is still as good as I remember.

If I have to name one thing that I didn't like was that this book has it's own terminology for different things, presumably to illustrate that cats think differently than humans. Now, that is confusing at times, but a minor one since the appendix explains them all. However, sometimes the normal human words where used while a cat word had been used for it in some previous chapter.

[Alex T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A neat books about cats! It has some low fantasy elements but otherwise is pretty grounded in reality and the cat's behavior is for the most part kept accurate to the real deal (with some artistic liberty taken by the author). I particularly liked many of the characters here.

There is some sexism, but I do appreciate how the author actually addresses this issue and doesn't just gloss over it like most older xenofiction does.

Full review at: https://skybookcorner.blogspot.com/20...

[Kirsti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another cat book that filled my childhood and teenage years with joy.With my more modern love of Warriors, it really isn't surprising when you think these were the kinds of books I was hunting down in Op Shops as a teenager. I can't remember the specifics of this one, but hopefully I can read it again in the future.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eines meiner Lieblingsbücher als Jugendliche. Über die Reise und das Überlegen einer Gruppe wild lebender Hauskatzen.

[Abbie Webber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good book about cats :)

[Sonea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solos Reise ist ein wunderbares Buch für alle Katzenliebhaber.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was a really good book, way better then I expected it to be!!

[Coco Pie · Rating 5 out of 5]

so lovely... and sad... and beautiful!