Thomas Gray, Philosopher Cat

by Philip J. Davis, Marguerite Dorian (Illustrator)

Thomas Gray, a cat that helps a Cambridge historian of mathematics with his reserch, purrs at the center of this light, philosophical tale wrapped around a mathematical problem

Genres: Fiction, Animals, Cats, Novels, Philosophy

143 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[eli · Rating 5 out of 5]

fun and easy to read. Thomas Gray is now my second favourite cat ;)

[Victoria]

Here is a summary page supplied by the author and inserted after two epigraphs, one in Latin, and the table of contents:

"Introducing Thomas Gray, a cat, and Lucas Fysst, a slightly eccentric Fellow of Pembroke College. Their collaboration leads them both to high honours in the intellectual world, and, as an aftermath, raises a number of metaphysical questions.
__________________________________________________________________'
"
Placed in Cambridge, England, this fantasy contains an introduction to the English University scene, an old Irish poem, a still older problem in mathematics, and six meals, together with some speculations on the human condition."

This perfectly introduces the subject as well as the tone, so if you like it, you'll like the book as much as I did, and find deep pleasures among the lightness and whimsey. (Five stars for being perfect of its type.)

[T.H. Waters]

I found this book to be very charming, and the accompanying illustrations are wonderful, making me smile with each encounter -- I'd actually love to have a poster of some of them. I really love cats, and so the adoration of Thomas Gray, The Philosopher Cat, by a mathematics historian who became quite smitten with her was utterly heart-warming. Subtle humorous antics and dialogue among the intellectuals at a prestigious college flavor the beginning and middle sections of the book, which gave me the giggles at time. As the body of the story was fleshed out, there were wonderful little tidbits of philosophy and wisdom worth pondering sprinkled here and there, making this story more than worthy of a book club selection; it would be fun to talk with others over a glass of wine regarding their interpretation on the meaning of certain concepts that were presented by Philip J. Davis, the author. Philosophy on life and mind bending are the strong suits of this book, the story line itself perhaps not as much, making it really hard for me to personally rate Thomas Gray: Philosopher Cat. Tricky... it really depends on what you're looking for. One thing is quite clear: the author is a most intelligent person. If you're up for glimpsing musings on a few of life's complex mysteries from an intellectual's point of view, then this is the book for you.

[Liedzeit Liedzeit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Die Katze Thomas Grey kommt ans Pembroke College in Cambridge, wo sie wertvolle Dienste leistet. Dabei schöne Anekdoten aus dem Wissenschaftsleben so über die Quadratwurzel aus 17.
Am besten aber: Tschu Hang und sein Schüler gingen am Flußufer entlang.
“Die Fische im Fluß sind glücklich”, sagte der Meister.
“Wie kannst du das wissen Meister, da du doch nie Fisch gewesen bist?”
“Wie kannst du wissen, daß ich nie Fisch gewesen bin, o Schüler, wo du doch nie der Meister gewesen bist?”

[Xanthi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a work of whimsy and gentle humour, laced with philosophy, mathematics, history and, yes, a cat. There are illustrations sprinkled throughout which add to the story. Being a cat lover and someone who works in academia, I found myself being thoroughly sucked in by this book's charm.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charming book. A series of beautiful vignettes of life in Cambridge from the points of view of a professor and a cat. Absolutely lovely with elegant sketches of the cat and her professor. Infused with British humor and often got me to laugh out loud and repeat sentences to myself.

[Henrietta Mojžišová · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is very nice book about life of one cat, and her human fellow with a little mathematical, phylosophical, historical and geographical part. I love the imagination of the author. His parts about what is Thomas Gray thinking and doing show how he knows cats and he is real cat lover. :)

[Maryanne]

Thomas Gray (12102007) Philosopher Cat by Philip J. Davis, illustrated by Margurerite Dorian
Real nice story about Cambridge, England and small gray cat.

[Megan Bowden · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was cute. But as it had the potential to be the perfect book for me and fell well short of that mark, I left feeling unfulfilled.

Regardless, if you love cats, Cambridge, unlikely friendships, and math, then this book might be the perfect mixture for you. It certainly is charming--the type of charm that doesn't just come from fluff, but has a certain heft to it. It's smart. It's quirky. It's voice-y.

But for me, this felt more like a string of short stories rather than the novel it proclaims itself to be. While some of the episodes worked well together, others felt mashed in, while other story threads either trailed off or were absent altogether. I craved more cohesiveness. As for the philosophical aspect--it could have used honing. While I liked the amount of discussion and poking fun of academia, in some areas the nitty-gritty made it seem as though Davis (a mathematics expert himself) was speaking to a very small audience--one that I was not a member of.

While I did enjoy this, it was deficient in depth in the areas I was interested in and too meandering in the areas I wanted tightened. And that ending? Who cares about a love story! I was there for Thomas Gray and did not appreciate when she lost the lime light.

[Bibliomama · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations by Marguerite Dorian are charming.

My enjoyment of this book was uneven. Some chapters I consumed with relish. Some chapters I only skimmed. I’m not quite sure what the author was trying to achieve but sometimes the archness and cleverness seemed forced and pedantic. When it didn’t stray into abstruse philosophical maunderings I enjoyed it.

Thomas Gray was a delightful character as cats usually are. There is a second book about her which I will try to find. It involves Hans Christian Andersen.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a story abt a Pembroke Don and his cat Thomas Gray and how they solve mathematical problems. It has a lot of descriptions of Cambridge and a lot of academic stuff. Also, cute cat pictures. It's very twee and there's poetry and references to Irish medieval poetry. It was a cute book, with some very charming moments. But didn't seem like it was enough somehow. The Cambridge stuff, though is lovely. And the cat stuff is mostly charming. It's not quite enough to keep it though. 3 stars.

[Megz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I cannot NOT buy a second-hand book about cats. And I cannot NOT read a book about cats. What tickled me even more was that Thomas Gray is a female cat. I can't say the book/story itself was too enjoyable to me - I absolutely continued reading for Thomas Gray. I have sticky notes in the book every time Thomas Gray does something that is so very CAT. The rest of the book was probably a bit too clever for me. I kept feeling that I was missing something, and because I know I'm not unintelligent, I quite pridefully un-enjoy feeling unintelligent. Oh, I'm aware of my faults and my pride.

But I love Thomas Gray, and I am happy to have known her.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great philosophy work. It includes comparisons of Christianity to Mathematics. It has references to questions that deep thinkers have been contemplating for centuries.
I loved that a cat was the character that had the freedom and means to explore, formulate theories, experiment, and move on.
There is also a great explanation of the role of the “university” in the world.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fiction book about a Cambridge professor and his pet cat. You get the flavor of being in the lounge of a Cambridge men's club.

[Mary T · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too cute books aren’t that bad when written by intelligent people (especially if cats appear).

[Saphira_reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually a 3.5 for me :) This was charming and full of philosophical thoughts.

[Caldwell · Rating 1 out of 5]

This story is about Thomas Gray, a cat who comes to live in Cambridge and becomes a resident of Pembroke College, where she is loved by the students and professors. While there she meets a colorful cast of characters including, and most importantly, Professor Lucas Fysst, a cunning professor who is quickly attached to her. Together they make quite the team and with Thomas Gray's curiosity and feline intuitions and Professor Fysst's understanding of different languages and comprehension of ideas they are in fact able to uncover an old document forgotten long ago by the college, and then decipher its meaning. The result is almost instantaneous fame for Thomas Gray, the cunning cat, and for Professor Fysst at Pembroke and then, later on, around the globe. Through the human interactions of the other characters, Thomas Gray's story is constructed, and through that story, philosophy, history and mathematics are explored.
I personally was not too amused or intrigued by this book as it was more about mathematics and history than philosophy, and because it lacked detail about the characters, often going into deeper descriptions about theories and discoveries. However, I do think that those who are really interested in such things would really enjoy this book, and thus I'd recommend it to those who generally read non fictional books, even though this story is basically fictional. Even those that really aren't interested in such things could probably make it through the book like I did. That is, as long as they like cats, for having a cat here and there to weave everything together really did move the story along.

[Yvensong · Rating 3 out of 5]

What do you get when a Professor of Applied Mathematics crosses the path of a cat named Thomas Gray on grounds of Pembroke College? You get an interesting look at philosophy, a math problem, love and life with some name dropping.

The story is a simple one, yet you may find yourself running to a dictionary, a thesaurus or the internet for many of the names, some words and some history research.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 'shaggy-cat' story with a few summaries on the history of mathematical discovery and philosophical musings. Innocent and twee enough to lend the book to a relative (mime's going to my wife's aunt:)

[Jessica Anne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Cute illustrations, though.

[Amy]

Pompous but charming, with cute illustrations and I learned some math theory. Not from the cat’s POV thank goodness.