Living With The Lama

by T. Lobsang Rampa

THIS WORK IS PROOF THAT ANIMALS ARE NOT THE 'DUMB CREATURES' MANY PEOPLE MAKE THEM OUT TO BE! This book is NOT a work of fiction, but was transmitted to the author via mental telepathy from his pet cat -- yes! you read that correctly. "You've gone off your head Feef," said the Lama. "Who will believe YOU wrote a book?" He smiled down at me and rubbed under my chin in just the way I liked best before he left the room on some business. I sat and pondered. "Why should I NOT write a book? I thought. True, that I am a Cat, but not an ordinary cat. Oh dear! No! I am a Siamese Cat who has traveled far and seen much. "Seen? Well of course. I am quite blind now, and have to rely on the Lama to tell me of the present scene, but I have my memories! Of course, I am old, very old indeed, and not a little infirm, but is that not good reason why I should put on paper the events of my life, while I am able? Here, then, is my version of Living with the Lama, and the happiest days of my life; days of sunshine after a lifetime of shadows."

Genres: Religion, Fiction, Novels

136 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1963

Reviews

[La Bruja Lectora (Tata) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ame este libro, la experiencia de ver la vida a traves de los ojos de un gatito es dulce y tierno aunque muy triste, lo volveria a leer sin dudarlo

[Kunal Kala · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bah.

[Maja Lange · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty much the only thing this book has got going for it is its basic premise; the idea of writing a book from a cat's perspective is somewhat interesting. The story in itself, however, is not. The first few chapters hold some promise, but it goes downhill from there. From a rather early point onwards, it's all "And then we bought a new car, but it turned out not to be to our satisfaction, so we bought another one, and then we got tired of living where we were living, so we moved somewhere else, and then we moved again and bought another car, which then had to be repaired"... I guess there's a hint of charm to be found here and there along the way, but not enough to make up for the lack of both entertainment, atmosphere and substance.

I'm not impressed with the technical aspect of the writing either. The author quite frequently seems to forget what he just wrote, which leads to inconsistencies of various kinds. For instance, you'll find a passage that goes something like "She was lying on her back, laughing and laughing" -> *a few lines* -> "She was so amused that she rolled over and lay on her back". Even worse, the author seems to sometimes forget that one of the characters is blind; he has her mentioning things as if she were seeing them. Sloppy.

[Jim Conant · Rating 2 out of 5]

I saw this book in a used book store and the author's name caught my eye, since I recognized "Lobsang" as a Tibetan name. The book store's owner told me that "he's a total fraud. He's like Carlos Casteneda. He made everything up." Despite the warning, I bought it anyway.

The fact that the author is supposedly a Tibetan Lama doesn't really figure into the book anywhere. It is nominally told from the perspective of a cat, and there are some charming moments. However, for the most part nothing in particular happens. The "Lama" who is referred to as "the Guv" in the story leaves Ireland because he's angry about paying too many taxes. Then he gets to Canada and complains about the local officials there. At one point he is visited by an Astral Traveler who instructs him to write his next book, but you'd think a lama would be doing things like meditation and projecting peace, rather than complaining about how unfairly life treats him.

The author seems like he's a bit nuts. He's genuinely trying to maintain the pretense that he is a Lama, yet offers up a book told to him telepathically by a cat.

[Maria Carmo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book years ago and I really enjoyed the clever way in which the Lama's Cat "writes" it's own Diary, telepathically transmitted to the Lama... It has the unique (but credible) perspective of a Cat, is weel written and convincing as a story and has a subtle sense of humor! Definitely a good read.

Maria Carmo

18th. August 2012.

[Boukhalfa Inal Ahmed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tu perds la tête, Fifi, dit le Lama. Qui voudra croire que tu es capable d'écrire un livre ?"
Il m'adressa un sourire, me gratta sous le menton, là, juste à l'endroit où ça me plaît bien, et s'en fut à ses occupations.
Je me mis à réfléchir : "Et pourquoi, je vous prie, n'écrirais-je pas un livre ? Il est vrai que je ne suis qu'une chatte, mais pas n'importe laquelle. Oh non ! Je suis une Siamoise qui a voyagé loin et vu beaucoup de choses. Vu ? Certes, je suis à présent tout à fait aveugle et je dois m'en remettre au Lama et à Lady Ku'ei, qui me prêtent leurs yeux, mais j'ai des souvenirs !"
Il est vrai que je suis vieille, très vieille et plutôt infirme, mais ce n'est pas une raison pour ne pas coucher sur le papier les événements de ma longue vie, tandis que je le peux.
Voici donc le récit de ma Vie avec le Lama, et des jours ensoleillés qui terminent une existence toute pleine d'ombres

[Victoria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sufrí con el comienzo de este libro, pero a medida que avanzaba fue mejorando. La vida de la gata Fifí fu terrible, una siamesa que era vista sólo como un objeto de catálogo y además, como una simple hembra destinada para parir. Creo que no es muy diferente de como se ven en la actualidad las personas y animales, siento que no se ha evolucionado NADA, y además, los malos tratos descritos en el libro eran horribles. Me costó terminarlo, pero el final no me agradó del todo, las cosas fueron mejorando para Fifí, pero al término de la historia todo pasa muy rápido, es como un suspiro y chan! se acabó.

[Andrea Neves António · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mais do que a descrição de vida e acontecimentos por um gato e da sua relação de afecto e lealdade com o Lama que o adoptou e com quem comunica telepaticamente, achei interessante a descrição das gentes e dos locais da Irlanda e Canadá.
Já agora, o Canadá não foi poupado nas críticas. Fico de sobreaviso.
Os agentes do fisco / finanças e a sua ganância ditaram, por vezes, a necessidade de procurar um novo Lar.
Considerei vagas todas as referências só passado e ao propósito de terem que emigrar.
E quem é Botão de Ouro?

[Silvina A. Molina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Si bien con los años me enteré que Lobsang Rampa no era quien decía ser, este libro en particular muestra una sensibilidad particular por el sentir de los animales considerando el año en que se escribió. Además de ser una historia fascinante.

[Ravioliradical · Rating 4 out of 5]

Llorando de lo bonito, en las ultimas paginas pensé en dejarlo sin terminar durante meses, se me hizo un poco bola pero me alegro de haberlo leído entero mereció la pena las mascotas siempre son nuestras mejores compañeras😔

[Xavier Marturet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me fascinó de joven esta historia contada en primera persona por el propio gato del lama.

[JimDavisFan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Madame Diplomat es uno de los personajes más aborrecibles que haya visto en un libro.

Quizá no sea una villana que destruya mundos o que cometa crímenes particularmente atroces, pero ella (y también su mayordomo) son simplemente dos personajes absolutamente despreciables.

Si eres amante de los gatos, es muy probable que los primeros capítulos te choquen un poco al narrar la forma cruel en que dichas mascotas solían ser tratadas antaño (Y todavía lo siguen siendo en la actualidad en algunas partes del mundo)

Cuando la pobre Fifi consigue al fin tener una familia que la quiere y cuida de ella, el tono del libro se vuelve más alegre, aunque es imposible dejar de sentir lástima por la pobre gatita.

[S'hi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The novelty of a psychic cat dictating to a Tibetan Lama who is under great public pressure for his claims about his extraordinary life surely open up the whole concept of possession as proposed by spiritualism.

If there is no human witness who can bear one’s story into the world, what better companion than the family cat?

Surely if you do not believe anything that Lobsang Rampa writes you would not be reading his books. If you are not getting anything out of his unique perspective on the world and its possibilities, why would you be wasting your precious life energy arguing with such a writer?

Here is both the humour that survival requires and the sensible continuance of a story by someone who is obviously living with the proceeds of the Lama, no matter how limited they may be. Perspectives about the writing life and its poor returns on time invested are equally valid reasons for reading as are the unusual glimpses of ordinary life amid a continuing saga of the most unbelievable transformation of an Englishman through psychic transplant.

If nothing else these books are definitely about survival.

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Been a fan of this booknfor years

As a child, I found a copy of this book among my mother's old books and read it so much that it fell apart. Mrs. Fifi Greywhiskers....aka Feef, has been a love

[AnK · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book impacted me in a way that the author didn't intend to do: it turned me against the concept of full breeds. It talks about how breeding takes a toll on the cat and how inhumane it really is. From the POV of the Lama's cat, it shows the misery of it all, and you can't help but feel it. Every time I see a breeder, I am reminded of this story and the (actually graphic) scenes that the kitty had to endure.

The rest two-thirds of the book is boring and felt like a long Twitter rant thread.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did "rescue" this one from Amazon or whomever as I have a paperback at my house---published (latest edition) 1981 but goes back to the 1960's --- has Siamese cat resting precariously on bald head in picture on front cover (which I may try to upload later.) I didn't try to compare with other book with same title but subtitled 25 years etc.
Yes I enjoyed all the Rampa books to varying degrees.

[Faye · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book when I was about 13 years old and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I still have the same copy. It was my first introduction to literature that wasn't written for kids and I remember not being ablue to put it down. I've the years I have borrowed the book to other who're much older then o was when I read it and they didn't shre the enthusiasm. Maybe I enjoyed it as much as I did because I was a kid, I'm not sure, but it stil think it was great book and would happily read it again .

[Devo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was desperate for an English language book while in thailand and picked this up in a second hand shop there. I thought it looked pretty funny since it's written narratively from his cat's perspective; Ms Fifi Greywhiskers ... man is his cat boring!!

(Actually, the beginning chapters of his cat's life would make for a cute and cruel children's book.

[Mauricio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book to educate people about the importance of animals and how similar they could be to us. Protecting animals and environments should be part of every human being. A little boring at the middle end but with a heart-touch ending. I will definitely recommend to kids who are starting into reading.

[Suzanne O’Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read, the story is narrated by the owners Siamese Cat, Fifi,and tells of how she was born in Paris and had a tough start in life suffering abuse and neglect from her previous owner. Things go from bad to worse for Fifi as she is made produce litter after litter of kittens. Eventually her luck changes and she lives out her old age given the love she has always craved.

[Joana Leitão Teixeira · Rating 2 out of 5]

A ideia era engraçada. A forma de contar a história não me convenceu. É certo que o facto de ser uma tradução brasileira de 1981 (que não corresponde à edição aqui do goodreads mas não havia a correcta e eu confesso a minha imensa preguiça em introduzi-la!) também é capaz de não ter ajudado.

[Satrina T · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a couple of the books of this series as a young girl but this was my favorite from them all. I loved the way this cat told her story.

I think I remember the ending making me cry.

[Sab]

Un libro que llegó a mis manos por casualidad y que me dejó completamente MARAVILLADA. Lo amé.

[Linda R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very different to anything I normally read.
It was very cute and well written, a quick read

[Robert Day · Rating 4 out of 5]

What - a fake - surely not!!