Cat Among the Pigeons

by Alice Thomas Ellis

A collection of stories from Alice Thomas Ellis's weekly column in the "Catholic Herald".

Genres: Short Stories

Paperback

First published November 28, 1994

About the author

Alice Thomas Ellis was short-listed for the Booker prize for The 27th Kingdom. She is the author of A Welsh Childhood (autobiography), Fairy Tale and several other novels including The Summerhouse Trilogy, made into a movie starring Jeanne Moreau and Joan Plowright.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I was reading this, I would mark pages on which I found wonderful, memorable quotes. My book looks like a flat hedgehog as a result. Almost every page bears a line, or a paragraph, that I want to plaster all over Facebook or e-mail to a friend. On politicians: "The most worrying aspect is that to so many in positions of authority common sense is a totally foreign quality. It wouldn't matter much that most of our leaders are pretty poor specimens of humanity if only they showed some sign of being acquainted with reality." On nature: "I do not delight in every aspect of creation: certain aspects of creation are a pain in the neck; mud, mosquitoes, politicians and the month of August for a start." On being easily bored: "...never dine out with people either in restaurants or in their houses unless you know them so well they won't mind if you bring a book with you. Something to read is the one absolutely basic essential for those prone to ennui and the serious sufferer makes sure that all her garments have capacious pockets where she can secrete, at least, a magazine or newspaper." I never go anywhere without a book, in case of emergency boredom, and it is comforting to know that I share this with Ellis. If you are familiar with Ellis's fiction, you will love this book. If you are NOT familiar with Ellis's fiction, you also will love this book.

[Cindy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a combination of news articles and most of them contained points of reference to the time it was written. difficult to follow.