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Domino
FINALLY BACK ON KINDLE – 2021 RE-RELEASE! Domino has always relied on tooth and claw to keep the barnyard vermin-free. When he’s not on patrol, his main concerns are prowling with housecat friends and trying to impress the mysterious, lethal female who lives in the nearby woods. When a brilliant and charismatic tom moves into the neighborhood, purring strange notions and introducing new “friends,” Domino soon learns there’s no way to bite or scratch a poisonous idea. As the evil grows, once-proud felines renounce their very identities in fear, life-long friends become unrecognizable, and the natural order is turned upside-down. Locked in a deadly rivalry, Domino must rely on his wits to save his family, his territory, and a time-honored way of life from the bloody scourge that descends. A tale of courage, strength, and love, DOMINO is a bracing tonic for a world gone mad.
231 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 19, 2016
13 people are currently reading
48 people want to read
About the author
Kia Heavey
5 books37 followersKia Heavey was born and raised in the suburbs of New York City. She graduated from Barnard College with a degree in German Literature and went to work as a creative professional in advertising. Her hobbies include fishing, music, reading, hiking, and most of all, being with her family. Her husband is Chief of Police in their hometown. They have two children and a cat.
Kia is the author of three novels:
NIGHT MACHINES, a book about a married mom who indulges in a harmless mind game and almost loses everything. (Recommended for adults, since it contains mature situations and would probably also be very boring to anyone under 25).
UNDERLAKE, a YA romance with a hint of the supernatural. In this book, a lonely Manhattanite girl is dragged to the sticks for the summer, where she connects unexpectedly with the natural beauty of the place, her own artistic talent, and the mysterious (and possibly dangerous) boy who swims in the lake by her house.
DOMINO, a modern fable about a barn cat locked in a deadly rivalry with a pampered house pet who convinces all the other animals that hunting is wrong. Before he knows what's happening, Domino is in an existential struggle to protect his territory, his family, and a time-honored feline way of life.
Kia is the author of three novels:
NIGHT MACHINES, a book about a married mom who indulges in a harmless mind game and almost loses everything. (Recommended for adults, since it contains mature situations and would probably also be very boring to anyone under 25).
UNDERLAKE, a YA romance with a hint of the supernatural. In this book, a lonely Manhattanite girl is dragged to the sticks for the summer, where she connects unexpectedly with the natural beauty of the place, her own artistic talent, and the mysterious (and possibly dangerous) boy who swims in the lake by her house.
DOMINO, a modern fable about a barn cat locked in a deadly rivalry with a pampered house pet who convinces all the other animals that hunting is wrong. Before he knows what's happening, Domino is in an existential struggle to protect his territory, his family, and a time-honored feline way of life.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 1, 2017
Domino by Kia Heavey is a gem of a story with cats in the center (as they should be, ask any cat!). This story is wonderfully written, yes it is for adults, and well plotted out. All the emotions you would find in a "normal" novel is here also. Get over it. Just because there animals they have feelings too! It is a delightful world of love, loss, battles, and even....deeper meaning. Take that doubters. Great story from Kindle scout.
January 11, 2016
This is an unusual book. Although not written in the first person, it is told entirely from the life view of Domino, a barn cat. Domino has a happy life, patrolling the various areas of the Brown family farm and the edges of the surrounding woodland. He has cat friends throughout the neighborhood, who he visits often, and a dog who lives on the Brown farm with him, but spends his days tethered to the dog house. Domino likes to strut past him, just out of reach. Domino does all the cat things you might expect: he hunts prey, supplemented by kibble and occasional kitchen treats from the Browns, he takes a mate, Celine, and they have a litter of kittens (without going into too many details), he is a proud papa raising his kits, and eventually everyone grows up and moves on, including the children in the Brown family.
But the main focus of the story happens one summer. There's a new cat in the neighborhood, Socrates, who moved with his people from an apartment in the city. His name is Socrates, he's Siamese, sits upright in a strange position and spews his “wisdom” to all the neighborhood cats. Most of them are transfixed by him and his fancy words, he has such an air of superiority. He tells them cats are “transcendent beyond the presupposition of others”. In fact “not just cats, ALL creatures are transcendent”, including dogs, birds, and even mice and rats. He convinces most of the cats that it is wrong for them to hunt and kill. After all, most of them have people who attend to their needs, so it's not that they really need the rats for their sustenance. He even introduces them to some rat friends of his and convinces them that rats should be their friends, too. Things change after that in the neighborhood. Soon there are rats everywhere, since the cats aren't killing them. Things go from bad to worse as Socrates rises in power. Something's got to give.
Love, life, death, friendship, pain, frustration, anger - it's all here. About any emotion we feel in our human lives happens among Domino and his friends. It gives us a unique look at the circle of life. It makes you smile, it makes you laugh, and it makes you cry. This is definitely a worthwhile read that will touch your heart.
But the main focus of the story happens one summer. There's a new cat in the neighborhood, Socrates, who moved with his people from an apartment in the city. His name is Socrates, he's Siamese, sits upright in a strange position and spews his “wisdom” to all the neighborhood cats. Most of them are transfixed by him and his fancy words, he has such an air of superiority. He tells them cats are “transcendent beyond the presupposition of others”. In fact “not just cats, ALL creatures are transcendent”, including dogs, birds, and even mice and rats. He convinces most of the cats that it is wrong for them to hunt and kill. After all, most of them have people who attend to their needs, so it's not that they really need the rats for their sustenance. He even introduces them to some rat friends of his and convinces them that rats should be their friends, too. Things change after that in the neighborhood. Soon there are rats everywhere, since the cats aren't killing them. Things go from bad to worse as Socrates rises in power. Something's got to give.
Love, life, death, friendship, pain, frustration, anger - it's all here. About any emotion we feel in our human lives happens among Domino and his friends. It gives us a unique look at the circle of life. It makes you smile, it makes you laugh, and it makes you cry. This is definitely a worthwhile read that will touch your heart.
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March 4, 2017This story is many things, some of which you won't suspect until the very end. It's a heart-rending story of love, loss, faith, devotion, and betrayal. It's a tale of social decay and corruption. It portrays virtue and salvation. It's also a description of the evils of moral relativity. Among all that, it's an entertaining and heart-touching story.
It might offend some who get caught up on the social issues. That's a good thing. We need to be challenged at times. If that's you, stick with it to the end. On the surface, it's a story of a cat defending his territory and way of life. Beneath its surface is a tapestry of emotions and choices driven by conflicting morals of every stripe.
It might offend some who get caught up on the social issues. That's a good thing. We need to be challenged at times. If that's you, stick with it to the end. On the surface, it's a story of a cat defending his territory and way of life. Beneath its surface is a tapestry of emotions and choices driven by conflicting morals of every stripe.
Want to read
January 26, 2016“He wanted to be a cat, and he didn't want to have to delve into why he was a cat and whether he should be a cat and if it was all right for him to be a cat. He just wanted to be.” That's Domino, the John Wayne of cats, guarding his territory - and his integrity, and the character of all cats, against the assault of a pompous intellectual and idealist, a new cat in town, named Socrates.
Kia Heavey’s “Domino” is a farm cat with a simple mission: protect his territory from intruders, and keep rats and other vermin out of the farmer’s property. “This is a book that very well may be mentioned in the same breath as Watership Down and Animal Farm,” Jack July writes. Something that never should happen does, and Domino’s world is transformed. This is a cautionary tale, with animal characters whose human counterparts are readily discernible.
The threat first appears in the form of that fat cat known as Socrates. This strange feline stands on two legs and draws an audience to himself as other cats gather to hear him orate. His message of “transcendence” is revolutionary to the point of being counter to all that is natural:
‘"And why are we so sure that it's perfectly all right for cats to kill and eat other creatures, based only on our own presuppositions?" Again, sounds of wonder and amazement came from the listeners. Some moved closer still to Socrates and he looked down upon them with benevolence.’
Domino smells a rat. Literally. Before long, Socrates is entreating his fellow cats to welcome rats as their peers, not prey, to be respected, not killed and eaten.
A few other cats laugh at Socrates and dismiss him as a clown, not worthy of a second thought, but all the other local felines fall for his spiel, to the point that rats are running the show, and cats are suffering as a result. By the time this is apparent even to the cats who've been duped, they’re like the frogs in a kettle of water brought slowly to a boil.
My favorite character is actually not the hero nor his compatriots, but the beleaguered German Shepherd, Thor, who is inexplicably kept at the end of a long tether while cats have free reign over the farm. Shame on Farmer Brown and his family! Shame on Domino, but he’s just a cat, born to torture dogs. As the plot thickens, it’s Thor who transcends his canine nature to do what is right, on principle, without anyone having to exhort him to do so, and without any hope of personal reward or recognition.
And does Thor get the recognition he so richly deserves? No, not even from the Browns.
We know the dirty rat pack will eventually have to be brought down. The question is *how* it will happen. The surprises are in how much loss a cat can survive, and how each cat will react. The cat who goes mad becomes as epic as Jack London’s ghost-dog in Call of the Wild.
Speaking of epic, my favorite view of Socrates is when he approaches Domino on his own territory and delivers a threat. He may not get the last word, but “a gust whipped the snowflakes up and around, wrapping him in a particulate mantle. His pale fur mingled with the flurry until he became impossible to see, though Domino could still hear his unnerving chuckle. Then he disappeared altogether.”
Given that this story is told from Domino’s point of view, it may be jarring to hear such exalted language (“particulate”), such proper English (Domino never ends a sentence with a preposition), such human understanding (the vet’s needles are part of a grand scheme of things that cats like Domino and Celine must accept for their own good). Domino’s narrative sounds almost as proper as an episode of Downton Abbey, until he talks back (in cat) to his owners, as rudely as one *might* expect of a cat. When he engages in dialogue with other cats, he can be surprisingly crude. Me, I’d use “piddle” or some other euphemism for the pi-- word, but I’m so averse to crude language, I didn’t allow my children to use “butt”or “fart” in conversation. It’s just… unclassy. (I was raised on a farm, a social cipher, but I read a lot, and "classy" was one of the few safe ways to rebel.)
As a die-hard dog lover, I hardly feel capable of giving five out of five stars to a story where Thor doesn’t get the respect he deserves. Not even from his humans. As a purist, I object to some of the phrasing, pacing and plotting. As a fan of good triumphing over evil, I have to say this story delivers.
DISCLAIMER: I was gifted a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Kia Heavey’s “Domino” is a farm cat with a simple mission: protect his territory from intruders, and keep rats and other vermin out of the farmer’s property. “This is a book that very well may be mentioned in the same breath as Watership Down and Animal Farm,” Jack July writes. Something that never should happen does, and Domino’s world is transformed. This is a cautionary tale, with animal characters whose human counterparts are readily discernible.
The threat first appears in the form of that fat cat known as Socrates. This strange feline stands on two legs and draws an audience to himself as other cats gather to hear him orate. His message of “transcendence” is revolutionary to the point of being counter to all that is natural:
‘"And why are we so sure that it's perfectly all right for cats to kill and eat other creatures, based only on our own presuppositions?" Again, sounds of wonder and amazement came from the listeners. Some moved closer still to Socrates and he looked down upon them with benevolence.’
Domino smells a rat. Literally. Before long, Socrates is entreating his fellow cats to welcome rats as their peers, not prey, to be respected, not killed and eaten.
A few other cats laugh at Socrates and dismiss him as a clown, not worthy of a second thought, but all the other local felines fall for his spiel, to the point that rats are running the show, and cats are suffering as a result. By the time this is apparent even to the cats who've been duped, they’re like the frogs in a kettle of water brought slowly to a boil.
My favorite character is actually not the hero nor his compatriots, but the beleaguered German Shepherd, Thor, who is inexplicably kept at the end of a long tether while cats have free reign over the farm. Shame on Farmer Brown and his family! Shame on Domino, but he’s just a cat, born to torture dogs. As the plot thickens, it’s Thor who transcends his canine nature to do what is right, on principle, without anyone having to exhort him to do so, and without any hope of personal reward or recognition.
And does Thor get the recognition he so richly deserves? No, not even from the Browns.
We know the dirty rat pack will eventually have to be brought down. The question is *how* it will happen. The surprises are in how much loss a cat can survive, and how each cat will react. The cat who goes mad becomes as epic as Jack London’s ghost-dog in Call of the Wild.
Speaking of epic, my favorite view of Socrates is when he approaches Domino on his own territory and delivers a threat. He may not get the last word, but “a gust whipped the snowflakes up and around, wrapping him in a particulate mantle. His pale fur mingled with the flurry until he became impossible to see, though Domino could still hear his unnerving chuckle. Then he disappeared altogether.”
Given that this story is told from Domino’s point of view, it may be jarring to hear such exalted language (“particulate”), such proper English (Domino never ends a sentence with a preposition), such human understanding (the vet’s needles are part of a grand scheme of things that cats like Domino and Celine must accept for their own good). Domino’s narrative sounds almost as proper as an episode of Downton Abbey, until he talks back (in cat) to his owners, as rudely as one *might* expect of a cat. When he engages in dialogue with other cats, he can be surprisingly crude. Me, I’d use “piddle” or some other euphemism for the pi-- word, but I’m so averse to crude language, I didn’t allow my children to use “butt”or “fart” in conversation. It’s just… unclassy. (I was raised on a farm, a social cipher, but I read a lot, and "classy" was one of the few safe ways to rebel.)
As a die-hard dog lover, I hardly feel capable of giving five out of five stars to a story where Thor doesn’t get the respect he deserves. Not even from his humans. As a purist, I object to some of the phrasing, pacing and plotting. As a fan of good triumphing over evil, I have to say this story delivers.
DISCLAIMER: I was gifted a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
June 13, 2016
There have been some great novels written about animals in the past.
"Watership Down" and "Animal Farm" are two of them that come quickly to mind.
"Domino" is, I think, able to stand in their company. This is a book that has all the elements of a classic: High adventure, well-drawn characters, a strong narrative, romance, and tragedy as well as a discussion of some serious (and currently relevant) social issues are woven into a novel about a barn cat's life in turbulent times. Domino, who got his name because of his black-and-white fur, is leading an ordinary life at the beginning of the book. He keeps his owner's yard free of vermin, teases the family dog on a regular basis, and occasionally goes on a late-night stroll to visit cats that live nearby.
His orderly world is thrown seriously out of whack, however, when a new cat enters the neighborhood with some very strange ideas.
Very strange and, as it turns out, very dangerous ideas.
I'm not going to discuss the plot in any great detail because that would be unfair to those that have not yet read the book and to its author. I will say, however, that the story revolves around the age-old conflict between cats and rats.
Author Kia Heavey has a fluid writing style and her narrative flows smoothly from page to page, always moving forward. It's not easy to switch gears and go from a battle scene or one of intense tragedy to a quiet moment shared by lovers, which is why many authors don't try to do that, but Heavey has managed to keep the quality of her storytelling at the same level regardless of the setting.
As with all great stories, Heavey has introduced some important questions for readers to consider as they follow Domino's adventures.
Why, for example, are so many people willing to fall in line behind a charismatic leader without questioning the wisdom of his/her plans?
What are the consequences of speaking out in a society that would prefer to "go along to get along?"
Should you try to fight evil, even if the odds are stacked against you?
Or is it better to keep your head down and simply try to exist?
How far would you go to protect your family?
Is the "enemy of my enemy" truly a friend? An ally?
Who can you really count on when the chips are down?
Considering these and other questions as I read along made "Domino" so much more than a simple adventure story. Like "Watership Down," this novel is wonderful not just because it is well written but because it makes you think.
In summary: A modern classic that has all the elements of great stories and a book I highly recommend.
"Watership Down" and "Animal Farm" are two of them that come quickly to mind.
"Domino" is, I think, able to stand in their company. This is a book that has all the elements of a classic: High adventure, well-drawn characters, a strong narrative, romance, and tragedy as well as a discussion of some serious (and currently relevant) social issues are woven into a novel about a barn cat's life in turbulent times. Domino, who got his name because of his black-and-white fur, is leading an ordinary life at the beginning of the book. He keeps his owner's yard free of vermin, teases the family dog on a regular basis, and occasionally goes on a late-night stroll to visit cats that live nearby.
His orderly world is thrown seriously out of whack, however, when a new cat enters the neighborhood with some very strange ideas.
Very strange and, as it turns out, very dangerous ideas.
I'm not going to discuss the plot in any great detail because that would be unfair to those that have not yet read the book and to its author. I will say, however, that the story revolves around the age-old conflict between cats and rats.
Author Kia Heavey has a fluid writing style and her narrative flows smoothly from page to page, always moving forward. It's not easy to switch gears and go from a battle scene or one of intense tragedy to a quiet moment shared by lovers, which is why many authors don't try to do that, but Heavey has managed to keep the quality of her storytelling at the same level regardless of the setting.
As with all great stories, Heavey has introduced some important questions for readers to consider as they follow Domino's adventures.
Why, for example, are so many people willing to fall in line behind a charismatic leader without questioning the wisdom of his/her plans?
What are the consequences of speaking out in a society that would prefer to "go along to get along?"
Should you try to fight evil, even if the odds are stacked against you?
Or is it better to keep your head down and simply try to exist?
How far would you go to protect your family?
Is the "enemy of my enemy" truly a friend? An ally?
Who can you really count on when the chips are down?
Considering these and other questions as I read along made "Domino" so much more than a simple adventure story. Like "Watership Down," this novel is wonderful not just because it is well written but because it makes you think.
In summary: A modern classic that has all the elements of great stories and a book I highly recommend.
April 20, 2016
Having read Kia Heavey's other books, I was already a fan of her work by the time her Kindle Scout campaign was launched. Voting for Domino was a safe bet to make, and I'm glad that I did.
Domino tells the tale of a cat's struggle to hold onto its territory and it's purpose in the world, as those around him insist that he must change his nature and embrace the more enlightened way of doing things. This new philosophy is brought to Domino's neighborhood by a city cat named Socrates, who allies himself with not only a dog, but an ever-growing swarm of rats who begin to infest the territories of neighborhood cats, eating their food and endangering their lives, all in the name of progress.
Others have compared this story to Animal Farm, so I won't do that. This fable is capable of standing on its own as a reflection of the world we live in today, with the “adapt or die” mentality that so many people have preached in recent years. The story illustrates the difference between blindly giving of yourself until there is nothing left to give, and working with those who you don't necessarily like or agree with in order to achieve a greater good.
Domino is a book that will appeal to readers of most ages. While some of the descriptions may be a little gory for very young readers (we are talking about cats and rats after all), there is nothing done in poor taste or in an attempt to sensationalize violence. The story explores themes of family and social bonds, and the priorities that must be established within those relationships. It does this without getting preachy or saccharine. Truth be told, I'm more of a dog person, but Domino had me cheering for a cat. That has to mean something. I highly recommend this book for both parents and their children. It would be a great way to start a discussion about the world we live in.
Domino tells the tale of a cat's struggle to hold onto its territory and it's purpose in the world, as those around him insist that he must change his nature and embrace the more enlightened way of doing things. This new philosophy is brought to Domino's neighborhood by a city cat named Socrates, who allies himself with not only a dog, but an ever-growing swarm of rats who begin to infest the territories of neighborhood cats, eating their food and endangering their lives, all in the name of progress.
Others have compared this story to Animal Farm, so I won't do that. This fable is capable of standing on its own as a reflection of the world we live in today, with the “adapt or die” mentality that so many people have preached in recent years. The story illustrates the difference between blindly giving of yourself until there is nothing left to give, and working with those who you don't necessarily like or agree with in order to achieve a greater good.
Domino is a book that will appeal to readers of most ages. While some of the descriptions may be a little gory for very young readers (we are talking about cats and rats after all), there is nothing done in poor taste or in an attempt to sensationalize violence. The story explores themes of family and social bonds, and the priorities that must be established within those relationships. It does this without getting preachy or saccharine. Truth be told, I'm more of a dog person, but Domino had me cheering for a cat. That has to mean something. I highly recommend this book for both parents and their children. It would be a great way to start a discussion about the world we live in.
March 5, 2021
Heartwarming, dramatic, and evocative
In this book, the author takes you inside the mind and (more importantly) the moral code of a barn cat that must endure a threat to his way of life. While many of the cats feelings and fears are familiar to a human, the great gift of the book is that the cat's alien world view feels completely natural, even though it is very different from our own. There is an obvious comparison to the Lion King here (another tale where a feline must fight for a return to the natural order), but the Lion King never really communicated exactly why the villains plan was a problem. The author here has the courtesy to fill in the blanks, and the story is therefore immensely more satisfying. You see Domino's world slowly coming apart at the seams, as the consequences of the new order stretch before him, and you feel his very real dread for the future of his family. As a result, what was merely a philosophical McGuffin in the Disney cartoon is a terrifying threat in this book. Domino is not merely asserting his claim to his rightful place, he is protecting a life and a responsibility he has earned. The result is real literature, and it should be treated as a classic. Very highly recommended.
In this book, the author takes you inside the mind and (more importantly) the moral code of a barn cat that must endure a threat to his way of life. While many of the cats feelings and fears are familiar to a human, the great gift of the book is that the cat's alien world view feels completely natural, even though it is very different from our own. There is an obvious comparison to the Lion King here (another tale where a feline must fight for a return to the natural order), but the Lion King never really communicated exactly why the villains plan was a problem. The author here has the courtesy to fill in the blanks, and the story is therefore immensely more satisfying. You see Domino's world slowly coming apart at the seams, as the consequences of the new order stretch before him, and you feel his very real dread for the future of his family. As a result, what was merely a philosophical McGuffin in the Disney cartoon is a terrifying threat in this book. Domino is not merely asserting his claim to his rightful place, he is protecting a life and a responsibility he has earned. The result is real literature, and it should be treated as a classic. Very highly recommended.
March 7, 2016
An enjoyable novel that has a political foundation like Animal Farm, but is more character oriented. I especially liked the character of Domino as he comes to grips with an outside agitator who is preaching equality of animals and upending the natural order. While there is the obvious political foundation to the story, this is not a preachy novel. You can enjoy the story on its own.
March 23, 2016
Great story
I don't generally read this type of book, but my curiosity got the better of me, and I'm glad it did. The plot is engaging, the characters well developed. 'Domino' is an entertaining and poignant fantasy, containing just the right nugget of reality that makes the afternoon of reading time well spent.
I don't generally read this type of book, but my curiosity got the better of me, and I'm glad it did. The plot is engaging, the characters well developed. 'Domino' is an entertaining and poignant fantasy, containing just the right nugget of reality that makes the afternoon of reading time well spent.
February 21, 2018
My first thought when reading this was that it was a story for children, one that would tell them funny adventures about cats. It does have a bit of that, but it also has more depth, getting into the nature of animals (and possibly humans, as well). Whose way of life is right and whose is wrong? Do we have the right to change how others live? Is there a way for everyone to live in harmony when differences are in conflict with those of others? A couple of quotes from the book give a feel for what I think the author is trying to say:
“Maybe this is what happens when cats get too comfortable, too far removed from the natural order of things. They don’t understand why things have always been done a certain way, so they don’t see the need for it. The customary ways just aren’t important to them anymore.”
“What I don’t get is this insistence that everyone else make the same choices.”
A thought-provoking book, and well worth the read, even if you're not a cat-lover.
“Maybe this is what happens when cats get too comfortable, too far removed from the natural order of things. They don’t understand why things have always been done a certain way, so they don’t see the need for it. The customary ways just aren’t important to them anymore.”
“What I don’t get is this insistence that everyone else make the same choices.”
A thought-provoking book, and well worth the read, even if you're not a cat-lover.
June 17, 2017
This book is animal farm for the modern era.
It's a story from the perspective of a cat, and that perspective is quite engrained in it. They do cat things, but talk to each other in human terms, run their territory and the like.The first couple chapters seem really trite in that regard, but it starts to unfold a bit later and you won't expect it. It's very subversive in that way and I applaud the author on that front.
I don't want to spoil how it goes because once the message unlocks, it takes a ride of its own. I find that toward the last third of the book that the characters like Domino, Celine, Thor become something that are very attachable, and I was a bit sad at the end.
Well done, well written.
It's a story from the perspective of a cat, and that perspective is quite engrained in it. They do cat things, but talk to each other in human terms, run their territory and the like.The first couple chapters seem really trite in that regard, but it starts to unfold a bit later and you won't expect it. It's very subversive in that way and I applaud the author on that front.
I don't want to spoil how it goes because once the message unlocks, it takes a ride of its own. I find that toward the last third of the book that the characters like Domino, Celine, Thor become something that are very attachable, and I was a bit sad at the end.
Well done, well written.
January 25, 2016
In a rare instance of my father reading to us when I was a child, we heard the story of George Orwell's Animal Farm. Unlike my mother's choices of standard children's books like
Ferdinand
and Madeleine, the rich characterizations of the animals at Manor Farm made an engrossing tale for us youngsters—even though we missed the deeper meanings of the novel's conflict.
I suspect many will read the delightful story of Domino, a black-and-white working-class tomcat defending his territory from invasion by an alien culture, as the simple tale it presents. The cats and other animals in the novel are anthropomorphized just enough for their battles to make sense to us, but not so much that their animal qualities vanish.
That's a fine line to tread, and Heavey has done it well. On first reading, I happily enjoyed this upper layer of the tale of Domino and his queen Celine, a wild black lady roaming free in the woods adjacent to the tom's territory. We have shared our lives with both cats and dogs, though more often just cats, for almost as long as we've been married, so the animal interactions rang true. And the story is a winner: normal cat nature versus a scheme (promoted by canny city rats through a Siamese "front cat" named Socrates) to convince the rural cat population to stop killing other animals.
The territory Domino himself patrols includes his human's property—barn, hen-house, and shed, as well as the surrounding woods and streets—but his buddies have their own patrols in the wider suburb where he lives. All these cats are threatened when the Siamese city cat arrives with a large-dog sidekick, Max, and a radical philosophy: cats can transcend their enmity with other animals and stop killing them for sport, because they are fed by their humans.
The idea takes hold, and the cats who accept it begin to suffer the consequences. Not only are they missing some key nutrients (particularly the pregnant queens, who would have supplemented their kibble with mice and birds—and rats), but the influx of rats begins to out-breed the cats. Socrates' relationship with Max, at first a convincing point of "transcendence at work" for the awestruck rural cats, now becomes a problem as Socrates uses Max as a storm-trooper to impose his idea on the few felines who did not join up voluntarily.
On second reading and further thought, a deeper theme began to emerge from the pages of Domino. The imported culture the tomcat fights is inherently antithetical to the nature and life-style of a free cat. When the majority of Domino's neighbors try to adopt this foreign way of living, it echoes for me the cultural conflicts as the Western world tries to accommodate to Eastern and Middle-Eastern refugees.
Domino and his mate, and one or two of the other cats, see clearly that they are being overrun by the burgeoning rat population, but are helpless to combat it—particularly when the rats begin hunting in packs, killing and eating other animals, even much larger ones. Transcendence, it seems, is only a moral imperative for cats. The rats are free to live as they choose, but to punish the cats for failing to embrace the rat-inspired philosophy.
Read at this level, the novel is no longer innocently delightful, but it's still a winner!
I suspect many will read the delightful story of Domino, a black-and-white working-class tomcat defending his territory from invasion by an alien culture, as the simple tale it presents. The cats and other animals in the novel are anthropomorphized just enough for their battles to make sense to us, but not so much that their animal qualities vanish.
That's a fine line to tread, and Heavey has done it well. On first reading, I happily enjoyed this upper layer of the tale of Domino and his queen Celine, a wild black lady roaming free in the woods adjacent to the tom's territory. We have shared our lives with both cats and dogs, though more often just cats, for almost as long as we've been married, so the animal interactions rang true. And the story is a winner: normal cat nature versus a scheme (promoted by canny city rats through a Siamese "front cat" named Socrates) to convince the rural cat population to stop killing other animals.
The territory Domino himself patrols includes his human's property—barn, hen-house, and shed, as well as the surrounding woods and streets—but his buddies have their own patrols in the wider suburb where he lives. All these cats are threatened when the Siamese city cat arrives with a large-dog sidekick, Max, and a radical philosophy: cats can transcend their enmity with other animals and stop killing them for sport, because they are fed by their humans.
Domino longed with every individual hair in his pelt to fight this suffocating threat even as his brain understood there was no way to scratch and bite a poisonous idea.
The idea takes hold, and the cats who accept it begin to suffer the consequences. Not only are they missing some key nutrients (particularly the pregnant queens, who would have supplemented their kibble with mice and birds—and rats), but the influx of rats begins to out-breed the cats. Socrates' relationship with Max, at first a convincing point of "transcendence at work" for the awestruck rural cats, now becomes a problem as Socrates uses Max as a storm-trooper to impose his idea on the few felines who did not join up voluntarily.
On second reading and further thought, a deeper theme began to emerge from the pages of Domino. The imported culture the tomcat fights is inherently antithetical to the nature and life-style of a free cat. When the majority of Domino's neighbors try to adopt this foreign way of living, it echoes for me the cultural conflicts as the Western world tries to accommodate to Eastern and Middle-Eastern refugees.
Domino and his mate, and one or two of the other cats, see clearly that they are being overrun by the burgeoning rat population, but are helpless to combat it—particularly when the rats begin hunting in packs, killing and eating other animals, even much larger ones. Transcendence, it seems, is only a moral imperative for cats. The rats are free to live as they choose, but to punish the cats for failing to embrace the rat-inspired philosophy.
Read at this level, the novel is no longer innocently delightful, but it's still a winner!
July 10, 2016
This is one of the most thought provoking books I've read in a long time, which is amusing because it's about cats and rats and other animals. If Animal Farm was a warning about the dangers and unintended consequences of communism and its accompanying loss of liberty, then Domino is a warning tale for our own age, when Western civilization appears to be committing suicidal altruism (what I call this strange, destructive impulse the West has at the moment whereby Western countries have all seemingly decided that their cultures and traditions and existence should be wiped out and erased and then supplanted by whatever's being imported from the Third World). Ours seems to be an age of revenge-colonialism, where the Western nations are being flooded with colonists from the Third World who have no intention of assimilating into the West but instead are pouring across borders to set up colonies and parallel societies and demand the West feed, house, and care for them (as they take root and then press for political power and sovereignty in the new territories they have effectively conquered). It amazes me that Western nations do not realize they are being colonized and that the colonizers will keep demanding and taking and exploiting the naivete of the West. We live at a time when the Eloi are being overwhelmed by the Morlocks but the Eloi are too stupid to realize that everything they worked hard for and have loved for centuries will be lost in the flood of colonists from other cultures (whose cultures will erase and supplant the West). If Harvard and Yale and other Ivy League schools can decide that they won't take everyone who wants to go there and live on campus, then why do Western nations have to take everyone who wants to come and be fed, housed, and given everything they demand? Domino is a book that addresses these sort of pressing issues in a way that is remarkable, as the setting on the farm and the interaction between a cat and the rats who have crawled in to take as much as they can (and conquer the farm) allows for the reader to appreciate what's being done to Europe (and to the US) without political correctness interfering with the ability to see the truth. Just as Animal Farm allowed people to see the evils of communism because the characters were taken down to a barnyard (and any emotional knee-jerk response to shut down debate was removed in that change of venue from human politics to the more fantastical setting), Domino does the same thing for the seditious destruction of Western identity by way of the over-saturation of Third World cultures being aggressively imported into the West. At some point, Western countries need to be like Domino and decide that they want to survive, they want to have an identity, and they don't want to be conquered by the colonists from somewhere else who have decided they will take what they want and make the West theirs. Domino is a wake up call that the West does not have to end, does not have to be erased, and does not have to engage in suicidal altruism. Domino is a book that challenges readers to confront harsh truths in a thought provoking way. I cannot recommend it more highly.
February 15, 2016
Domino is a story of anthropomorphic cats. Not cute cats from cartoons, who walk on hind legs and wear funny knit cat clothes. These are real animals, possessed of predator teeth and sharp claws, with instincts to match. We get to see through their eyes, hear the sounds only they can hear, experience the thrill of the hunt and the pleasure of rest in a cosy hideout. The author is clearly a cat lover who has spent time observing the animals.
And yet, at its essence, this is a profoundly human tale. So human, in fact, that some readers might be able to predict nearly every beat of the story. Normally, calling a plot "predictable" is a derogatory statement. Authors are forever outdoing each other trying to come up with the Next Big Twist, forgetting that there is something much more important they could provide to the reader instead.
Insight. Food for thought. A different perspective on the familiar. Domino provides all of it an more. The basic plotline of a stranger entering a well-established community and causing first excitement, then upheaval, then destruction is nothing new. Neither is the story of those who try to fight the hostile forces and protect their families, friends and values to the best of their abilities. Nor are the side subplots about the challenges and heartbreaks that come with becoming a parent. However, being told exclusively through the eyes of Domino, a proud, capable and intelligent barn cat, the story can reach deeper, on a more visceral level, and cover some themes and issues that we might be too uncomfortable to face if told in a more straightforward manner. I am almost reminded of Anthony Burgess, the author of A Clockwork Orange, confessing that he inserted the made-up Nadsat slang into some of the scenes because writing them out in plain English would have been intolerable. Domino is not quite as violent and disturbing, but in spite of being an animal fable, it is serious, earnest, and at times harsh. The violence is both haunting and effective. This is definitely not a book for young children.
The plotting is meticulously done, with all the threads coming together in the end for a conclusion that is, as one of my old reviewer friends used to say, both surprising and inevitable. The Epilogue section is pure, uplifting beauty and negates much of the darkness present in the main body of the story. All in all, a very special tale that I can wholeheartedly recommend.
And yet, at its essence, this is a profoundly human tale. So human, in fact, that some readers might be able to predict nearly every beat of the story. Normally, calling a plot "predictable" is a derogatory statement. Authors are forever outdoing each other trying to come up with the Next Big Twist, forgetting that there is something much more important they could provide to the reader instead.
Insight. Food for thought. A different perspective on the familiar. Domino provides all of it an more. The basic plotline of a stranger entering a well-established community and causing first excitement, then upheaval, then destruction is nothing new. Neither is the story of those who try to fight the hostile forces and protect their families, friends and values to the best of their abilities. Nor are the side subplots about the challenges and heartbreaks that come with becoming a parent. However, being told exclusively through the eyes of Domino, a proud, capable and intelligent barn cat, the story can reach deeper, on a more visceral level, and cover some themes and issues that we might be too uncomfortable to face if told in a more straightforward manner. I am almost reminded of Anthony Burgess, the author of A Clockwork Orange, confessing that he inserted the made-up Nadsat slang into some of the scenes because writing them out in plain English would have been intolerable. Domino is not quite as violent and disturbing, but in spite of being an animal fable, it is serious, earnest, and at times harsh. The violence is both haunting and effective. This is definitely not a book for young children.
The plotting is meticulously done, with all the threads coming together in the end for a conclusion that is, as one of my old reviewer friends used to say, both surprising and inevitable. The Epilogue section is pure, uplifting beauty and negates much of the darkness present in the main body of the story. All in all, a very special tale that I can wholeheartedly recommend.
February 19, 2017
Wow What a great book. If you like cats cats, you will
like this book. It also has humans,dogs and rats. The
ending really was good.
like this book. It also has humans,dogs and rats. The
ending really was good.
September 24, 2016
'Domino' is a highly imaginative and surprisingly poignant look into the life of a barn cat. Domino's life is going quite well. He has a peaceful territory to keep watch over, the dog is on a leash, he can prowl with buddies at night when he wants, and his people feed him well to boot. Oh, and there's this cute little black cat in the neighboring woods! But the good life takes a turn for the worse when a spoiled city cat with delusions of grandeur brings 'transcendent thought' to the neighborhood. The result is an overthrow of the natural order that threatens Domino, his friends, and his very way of life.
If you are cat person like me, the spot-on interpretation of behavior and 'thoughts' of the furry denizens of Domino's world will have you turning pages non-stop.
If you like a good moral to a story, you are also in luck. The theme here is that you should always be who you were born to be. Be yourself, stand up for what you know to be right, and defy those who would force you to become defenseless!
I'll say no more about the plot, but I will say that the writing was seamless. The character development was pure. The feelings evoked were strong. I can heartily recommend this book to anyone. The only caution I give is that there are some sad parts that can make you cry, especially if you have a tender heart for animals. Even so, you shouldn't let that stop you from enjoying the ride!
I give this book 5 stars and call it an Amazing Read!
If you are cat person like me, the spot-on interpretation of behavior and 'thoughts' of the furry denizens of Domino's world will have you turning pages non-stop.
If you like a good moral to a story, you are also in luck. The theme here is that you should always be who you were born to be. Be yourself, stand up for what you know to be right, and defy those who would force you to become defenseless!
I'll say no more about the plot, but I will say that the writing was seamless. The character development was pure. The feelings evoked were strong. I can heartily recommend this book to anyone. The only caution I give is that there are some sad parts that can make you cry, especially if you have a tender heart for animals. Even so, you shouldn't let that stop you from enjoying the ride!
I give this book 5 stars and call it an Amazing Read!
January 26, 2016
What appears to be a delightful tale about the trials and travails of a simple barn cat morphs into an allegorical masterpiece. This is a book that very well may be mentioned in the same breath as Watership Down and Animal Farm. For the simple middle school student it will be easy, enjoyable reading. For an adult, parallels are easy to draw as one looks out across our political spectrum. Lessons are repeatedly hammered home about the dangers of socialism and communism. Once this book catches fire, and I think it will, I can see the launch of an author’s career. I can see a movie like a more dark and suspenseful “Cats and Dogs” being made. This is that kind of book. Well done Kia Heavey, well done.
May 23, 2016
Follow a cat as he sees his world changed by a new cat to the neighborhood and a new love. Not your usual sappy sweet cat story, but realistic and believable. On the surface, just a story about a cat. Look deeper and see a commentary on our world and how one man can change it for better or for worse.
The Lady T'Kaat of Kaat's Keep
The Lady T'Kaat of Kaat's Keep
October 9, 2016
Very exciting
This story was full of emotions. Horror, suspense, love, sadness, and happiness. It had everything. I liked the tension between the rats and Domino the cat. It definitely was a page turner.
This story was full of emotions. Horror, suspense, love, sadness, and happiness. It had everything. I liked the tension between the rats and Domino the cat. It definitely was a page turner.
August 24, 2016
Good
Yes, the talking kitty genre, it is well done. Mostly does not shy from the realities of outdoor cat life.
Yes, the talking kitty genre, it is well done. Mostly does not shy from the realities of outdoor cat life.
April 4, 2017
Richard Adams, the beloved author of ‘Watership Down,’ began telling his anthropomorphic masterpiece simply as entertainment for his two young daughters; that his story became something more was unplanned. Now, it provides worthy inspiration for the likes of authors such as Kia Heavey, whose structure and craft in presenting this novel obviously is no accident. Whether or not equaling similar classics preceding hers was a goal, ‘Domino’ stands shoulder to furred shoulder with the best of them.
The themes within are essential, even primal, and the storyline rough and real as life and death. The animals portrayed live in an unforgiving world ruled by harsh consequence, yet fall victim to the pursuit of advantage presented in the guise of more noble goals by conniving enemies. Clarity, commitment, courage and wit remain advantages equal to his strength, speed, fangs and claws, carrying Domino through his challenges to a heart-stopping final confrontation.
More essential than even cats and flawless throughout, this reading experience absolutely should not be missed. Five solid stars.
The themes within are essential, even primal, and the storyline rough and real as life and death. The animals portrayed live in an unforgiving world ruled by harsh consequence, yet fall victim to the pursuit of advantage presented in the guise of more noble goals by conniving enemies. Clarity, commitment, courage and wit remain advantages equal to his strength, speed, fangs and claws, carrying Domino through his challenges to a heart-stopping final confrontation.
More essential than even cats and flawless throughout, this reading experience absolutely should not be missed. Five solid stars.
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