White Kitty

by Chris R.E. Wells

Charles is a grad-school dropout whose life and marriage are at an impasse, but a chance encounter will cause him to re-evaluate the choices he has made. Chris R. E. Wells' haunting debut novel chronicles the life of a man whose story is at once foreign and all-too-familiar as it meditates on the nature of memory, fantasy, love, and samaritanism. ""White Kitty, the debut novel by Chris Wells, is ... the smartest, saddest, most beautiful book I've read in a very long time.... The opening chapter is the most brilliant interior monologue I've read since Joyce-simply breathtaking-and from there it only gets better. It's incredibly introspective yet full of action, utterly heartbreaking yet full of hope, delightfully complex yet urgent and honest. A true work of literary art."" -Gilad Elbom, Scream Queens of the Dead Sea

Genres: Fiction

210 pages, Paperback

First published June 15, 2009

Reviews

[Letitia Trent · Rating 5 out of 5]

White Kitty is a rare book--it is smart, vulnerable, postmodern, intellectual, and yet utterly human and about the ways that we deal with disappointment and experience.

[Laura Sielen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is complicated in all the right ways. It is timely for today in its exploration of the imbalances of power in relationships between men and women. An accident at the narrator's house sets in motion a reflection on humiliations of the past and prods the narrator to come to terms with his present, in a story that un-peels in layers. The language is intellectual, reflective, and bracing. The author creates characters that are complex and real, and their interactions explore the gray area between trauma and growth. If you are looking for a good book to read carefully, one that will reward you for taking your time to think about in between the pages, I would highly recommend White Kitty.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I found this book interesting. The writing is in a stream of thought style following a middle age man through his middle class life including a split-up with his wife. It took a while to 'warm up' as the opening has the main character very confused but after a few jumps backward and forward I found the 'storyline' became clearer and more enjoyable.

The book is easy to read (after the first bit) and I would recommend it to a casual reader. I wanted to give this say a 3.5 but there are no halves on GR so 4 it is.

Note - Fair to say I was predicated toward liking this book as the author Chris was good enough to send me a copy here in Australia from his home in the US. Thank you Chris for the book and participating on Goodreads

In the spirit of giving if any Aussie readers would like my copy of this book I would be happy to share it with you. Leave me a message and I will contact you to get a postal address

[Jacqui · Rating 2 out of 5]

A beautifully written book that is about a confused grad school drop out, Charles, that is dealing with everything that is falling apart in his life: his marriage, his career the relationship he has with his family. This book is moving and through-provoking. I would recommend it to readers ages 18+.

[Faye Filson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, I got this book free from the Goodreads book giveaway, this book was not for me. It made me dizzy trying to keep up with the main characters thoughts, which is primarily the whole book, there is not much dialog between characters. I found myself skimming through to get to the end. Sorry.

[Devin Curtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't say it better than my man G-lad Artbum