A review: Gone Little Cat by Gustav Preller.
Gustav Preller’s new novel, aimed at children, is far more complex than it first seems and can touch readers of all ages. This delightful story, dedicated to ‘all animals displaced, destroyed, and forgotten’ (1) primarily tackles the theme of deforestation and the effect of this on the (largely) powerless animal kingdom.
The story is narrated by Pipit, a Siamese ‘pussycat’, who lives in luxury with Ollie, the reclusive misfit writer whose property adjoins a forest. Ollie and Pipit’s relationship is precious and is illustrated in this passage: ‘Ollie suddenly rained kisses on my head, eyes and nose as if he couldn’t find words, surprising because words were what he made all the time’. However, this relationship is affected when Ollie allows his desperate friend, Hedda, and her dog, Horand, to live with them. From then on, things become tough for Pipit and before long, whilst trying to escape the jaws of yet another dog, Brutus, Pipit escapes into the forest and is thrust into a foreign and very frightening world. Pipit, at first lost and alone and rejected by the others, is soon integrated into this community. She has to understand and adapt to this strange environment if she is to survive. However, as Pipit begins to find acceptance and friendships, the existence of all forest-dwellers is threatened by Man and his destructive machinery as they embark on a mission to clear the forest in order to make way for (yet another) urban development. The animals, under the leadership of Aristotle, the giant eagle owl, refuse to submit to the obliteration of their habitat and take matters into their own hands, showing that they are not completely powerless after all.
Preller is skillfully able to create characters that closely resemble their real-life counterpart, and this is the joy of this little book. From Monk and Becky, the vervet monkeys, to Hamlet the bush pig (who ‘hadn’t been put together very well’) and Tom, Dick and Harry, the feral cats who threaten Pipit’s very existence, the story comes alive with the delightful characterization of these forest dwellers. The interactions between the animals, as perceived and narrated by Pipit, are as authentic as one could imagine them to be.
The character Ollie explains to Pipit, as he sits down to write, ‘any book for the young has to have some dark in it’. He has certainly created this ‘dark’ through life-threatening challenges within the forest, as well as through the humans who disregard the ecological effect of their greed and ambition. In a world where climate change is on everyone’s lips, this subject is relevant, and this narrative approach has the power to educate and influence young minds. Preller’s tightly controlled expression makes for a compelling narrative that deals with ‘growing up, understanding that one doesn’t have to be the same to be friends, and, through courage and resilience, finding one’s self in a world that contains both good and bad’. (2)
Preller has directed this novel at early teenagers. While a story narrated by an intuitive, perceptive and humorous cat is unlikely to appeal to older teenagers, this would be highly suitable as a school set work for Grade 6 or 7. It may be that the language is too sophisticated and the ideas too complex for many 12/13 year olds to do it justice without substantial teaching input. In addition, the author has also included comprehension questions at the end – a blessing to every teacher.
(11)Gone Little Cat Dedication
(22)Gone Little Cat blurb
EEExtracts from Gone Little Cat by Gustav Preller.
“To my utter amazement it spoke. ‘You’re new here, aren’t you? I know everyone and I’ve not seen you before.’
His greyish-brown feathers didn’t seem nearly as we as my fur. He opened his wings and shook off the remaining drops. Two of me could stretch out on each wing they were so big! At least while he talked he couldn’t eat me.
‘I am,’ I said, keeping it short for fear of saying the wrong thing.
‘And what are you called?’
‘Pipit, Pipit the cat.’
Yes, yes, I know cats. We have some shady characters around here, if you haven’t already met them. I’m Aristotle, Ari for short. I have no idea why parents give their kids names others can’t pronounce. Yours is easy.’ He paused. ‘I can tell from the stuff around your neck that you’re from the human world.’ He seemed unimpressed.
‘From a home, yes…Ollie’s.’ I wanted to say it’s now Hedda’s and Horand’s and Ollie just lives there. ‘I’m not sure I’ll ever find it again.’
‘So! You’re lost?’
‘Yes, I think so. I’ve never been lost before.’
‘Not a bad thing, I mean, why be with humans at all? I see their rubbish in the forests, in the rivers, on the beaches. I see everything, even the snares they set to catch us.’ Ari stared with unblinking eyes. It was what predators did, Ollie said, which was why he always closed and opened his eyes when he talked to me.” (2020: 76-77).
…
“…Cheeks bulging he managed to say, ‘I’m Monk. You’re new, aren’t you? I soon learnt that extended eye-contact wasn’t a monkey thing.
‘Newly arrived, yes, and I’m Pipit.’ I said casually but secretly delighted to be spoken to.
‘You’ve come a long way?’ His jaws were still going.
‘Such a long way that I’m now lost,’ I said.
‘Wow! Must be fun – no parents, no rules, doing what you like.’
Monk was as free as any monkey could be yet he didn’t think so. He wanted my kind of freedom: no parents, no rules, nobody telling him what to door where to go, or when he should go to sleep. Did he realise that this kind of freedom didn’t always bring happiness, a sense of belonging, or a routine that made one feel loved and secure?” (2020: 81-82).
