A Tale of Two Lions: A Novel

by Roberto Ransom, Roberto Ransom

From a bold new voice in Spanish fiction―a sly and endearing novel. “My Dear Sister, I’m writing to warn you: Cattino―the cat who is soon to arrive at your house with my wife―is really a lion,” laments Count Lorenzaccio. Cunningly disguised as a housecat, Cattino is at home among the villas of the Italian gentry and has stolen the contessa’s heart. Meanwhile, in Nairobi, the dysfunctional Jeremiah is hired to don pith helmet and riding crop as a costumed museum guard. His ward? A stuffed lion named Pasha. But with his transfixing eyes and glare of “golden, liquid savagery,” Pasha soon reveals himself as a regal animal indeed, rousing himself and escaping into the night.

Ignacio Padilla declared this mischievous little novel to be “the best Mexican literary work I have read in recent years . . . [it] heralds a pen capable of that rarest of privileges in our letters: attaining the comic and profoundly human through a perfect simplicity.”

114 pages, Hardcover

First published January 15, 2007

Reviews

[Anne Kabel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two lions - Pasha and Cattino - who both have the magical ability to change... one from a stuffed lion on display to a living breathing creature and the other from an ordinary housecat to a full sized beast.

This little book is nicely written, full of magical realism, odd characters and those two lions.

[Peggye O'Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weird little book (literally, it's only about 114 pages) about two lions, one can change from kitty cat to lion and the other is stuffed that can move when it thinks no one can see it.

[The Great Dan Marino · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the prim weirdness of this one. It might suffer from a little too much lack of substance, but there's a definite game element at play and I think that makes up for the airiness. Finding the connections between the chapters is fun. To delve too deeply into what the lions actually are or hell even what the characters such as Jeremiah or Sophie actually are would, strangely, be to lose some of the work's power; that power comes in no small part from suggestion and gesture, that's just how the piece operates--almost but not quite the same as most children's stories or fairy tales. So overall maybe a bit stakesless or tensionless, but the stakes and tension present take on a rare flavor just cuz of the peculiar nature of the novel. That rare flavor makes this one worthwhile.

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was odd. Not really a novel, more like a tiny novella. It can best be compared to a fairy tale in that it had a fanciful subject and lacked a difinitive place it time. I liked the sketches throughout the book best. It was slightly confusing and took me until the very far in the book to understand it at all. May be part of the issue was that it was translated into English and maybe something was lost in the translation.

[Lynn]

I'm reading this and I can't help feeling annoyed at the story's detachment. I sense the irony in that the whole layout is personal correspondence from the protagonist to his sister.

It feels like disjointed writing, not the norm. It will irritate you if you like intense, focused meaningful stories. I sense italo Calvino style as well as Milan Kundera whose style I unfortunately, can't get into...

We shall see. I will try to enjoy it.

[Cate]

An odd book, (gotten from Kate), the first part is a little unappealing; it takes the form of several letters written by a dude with a nervous condition of some sort about his wife's obsession with a cat/lion. Later descriptions of this animal help and are worth the read. Anyway, it's really short and can fit in your pocket so why not read it?

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a charming tale of two lions - Cattino who seems to be an Italian Countess's housecat and Pasha who is a stuffed trophy kill in Nairobi. Both Cattino and Pasha are more than they appear...

[Louise · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a rather odd book. I enjoyed the story, but wasn't really sure of the meaning. It seemed almost like a child's story to me.

[Gail · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think the basic idea wasn't too bad, but there just wasn't enough there to really care about. You don't really get to know the characters. This is sort of magical realism...

[Donna Jo Atwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little book with three connected stories . An oddment.

[Bric Hack]

Absolutely stunning. It flows with neverending fantasy, wow!! Such elegant Style!!!!