The Cat's Table
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Narrated by:
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Michael Ondaatje
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By:
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Michael Ondaatje
About this listen
In the early 1950s, an 11-year-old boy in Colombo boards a ship bound for England. At mealtimes he is seated at the “cat’s table” - as far from the Captain’s Table as can be - with a ragtag group of “insignificant” adults and two other boys, Cassius and Ramadhin. As the ship makes its way across the Indian Ocean, through the Suez Canal, into the Mediterranean, the boys tumble from one adventure to another, bursting all over the place like freed mercury. But there are other diversions as well: One man talks with them about jazz and women, another opens the door to the world of literature. The narrator’s elusive, beautiful cousin Emily becomes his confidante, allowing him to see himself “with a distant eye” for the first time, and to feel the first stirring of desire. Another Cat’s Table denizen, the shadowy Miss Lasqueti, is perhaps more than what she seems. And very late every night, the boys spy on a shackled prisoner, his crime and his fate a galvanizing mystery that will haunt them forever.
As the narrative moves between the decks and holds of the ship and the boy’s adult years, it tells a spellbinding story - by turns poignant and electrifying - about the magical, often forbidden, discoveries of childhood and a lifelong journey that begins unexpectedly with a spectacular sea voyage.
©2011 Michael Ondaatje (P)2011 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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The best stories pull readers in and keep them turning the pages, eager to discover more—to find the answer to the question: "And then what happened?" The true hallmark of great literature is great imagination, and as Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio prove with this outstanding collection, when it comes to great fiction, all genres are equal.
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Something for Everyone
- By Nicole on 05-24-17
By: Neil Gaiman - author/editor, and others
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Now, Voyager
- Femmes Fatales
- By: Olive Higgins Prouty
- Narrated by: Coleen Marlo
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Boston blueblood Charlotte Vale has led an unhappy, sheltered life. Lonely, dowdy, repressed, and pushing 40, Charlotte finds salvation at a sanitarium, where she undergoes an emotional and physical transformation. After her extreme makeover, the new Charlotte tests her mettle by embarking on a cruise and finds herself in a torrid love affair with a married man which ends at the conclusion of the voyage. But only then can the real journey begin, as Charlotte is forced to navigate a new life for herself.
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The Inspiration for The Movie Classic
- By Susie on 12-17-12
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Archangel
- Samaria, Book 1
- By: Sharon Shinn
- Narrated by: Tamara Marston
- Length: 17 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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A tale of the distant future by the author of The Shape-Changer's Wife brings listeners to a world in which the fate of all life rests on the voice of an angel.
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An All-TIme Favorite
- By Carol on 02-27-11
By: Sharon Shinn
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The Eight
- A Novel
- By: Katherine Neville
- Narrated by: Susan Denaker
- Length: 25 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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New York City, 1972: A dabbler in mathematics and chess, Catherine Velis is also a computer expert for a Big Eight accounting firm. Before heading off to a new assignment in Algeria, Cat has her palm read by a fortune-teller. The woman warns Cat of danger. Then an antiques dealer approaches Cat with a mysterious offer: He has an anonymous client who is trying to collect the pieces of an ancient chess service, purported to be in Algeria. If Cat can bring the pieces back, there will be a generous reward.
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Best Plot-Driven Novel I've Ever Read
- By Tango on 09-08-13
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The Art of Hearing Heartbeats
- A Novel
- By: Jan-Philipp Sendker
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
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When a successful New York lawyer suddenly disappears without a trace, neither his wife nor his daughter Julia has any idea where he might be - until they find a love letter he wrote many years ago to a Burmese woman they have never heard of. Intent on solving the mystery and coming to terms with her father’s past, Julia decides to travel to the village where the woman lived. There she uncovers a tale of unimaginable hardship, resilience, and passion that will reaffirm the listener’s belief in the power of love to move mountains.
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Basic Story Interesting, But...
- By Monica on 06-04-13
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The Bedlam Detective
- By: Stephen Gallagher
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Sebastian Becker, a former Pinkerton man, lives in England and investigates wealthy eccentrics who may be too insane to care for their own affairs. He is asked to investigate rich landowner Sir Owain, but arrives to discover two young girls have been murdered, and it is not the first time children have come to harm in this small town.
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Satisfying!
- By Margaret on 03-26-12
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Lighthouse Bay
- By: Kimberley Freeman
- Narrated by: Caroline Lee
- Length: 16 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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This breathtaking novel travels more than a century between two love stories set in the Australian seaside town of Lighthouse Bay. In 1901, a ship sinks off the coast of Lighthouse Bay in Australia. The only survivor is Isabella Winterbourne - escaping her loveless marriage and the devastating loss of her son - who clutches a priceless gift meant for the Australian Parliament. Suddenly, this gift could be her ticket to a new life, free from the bonds of her husband and his overbearing family.
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Excellent story!
- By Kate B. on 11-30-17
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Pietr the Latvian
- Inspector Maigret, Book 1
- By: Georges Simenon, David Bellos - translator
- Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong
- Length: 3 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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The first audiobook which appeared in Georges Simenon's famous Maigret series, in a gripping new translation by David Bellos.Inevitably Maigret was a hostile presence in the Majestic. He constituted a kind of foreign body that the hotel's atmosphere could not assimilate. Not that he looked like a cartoon policeman. He didn't have a moustache and he didn't wear heavy boots. His clothes were well cut and made of fairly light worsted. He shaved every day and looked after his hands. But his frame was proletarian. He was a big, bony man.
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Long live Maigret
- By Adeliese Baumann on 11-19-14
By: Georges Simenon, and others
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Silver Wattle
- By: Belinda Alexandra
- Narrated by: Caroline Lee
- Length: 16 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
In fear for their lives after the sudden death of their mother, Adéla and Klára must flee Prague to find refuge with their uncle in Australia. Later, Adéla becomes a film director at a time when the local industry is starting to feel the competition from Hollywood. But even while success is imminent, the issues of family and an impossible love are never far away.
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Groan, Snore and Wince!
- By OrangeWisteria on 02-12-12
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The Lake House
- By: Kate Morton
- Narrated by: Caroline Lee
- Length: 21 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Living on her family’s gorgeous lakeside estate in Cornwall, England, Alice Edevane is a bright, clever, inquisitive, innocent, and precociously talented fourteen-year-old who loves to write stories. But the mysteries she pens are no match for the one her family is about to endure ...One midsummer’s eve, after a beautiful party drawing hundreds of guests to the estate has ended, the Edevanes discover that their youngest son, Theo, has vanished without a trace.
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Enjoyed the writing, but oy vey, this book
- By Jennifer S on 12-28-18
By: Kate Morton
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Tears of the Moon
- By: Di Morrissey
- Narrated by: Kate Hood
- Length: 16 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Broome, Australia, 1893. It's the wild and passionate heyday of the pearling industry, and when young English bride Olivia Hennessy meets the dashing pearling master, Captain Tyndall, their lives are destined to be linked by the mysterious power of the pearl. Sydney, Australia, 1995. Lily Barton embarks on a search for her family roots which leads her to Broome. But her quest for identity reveals more than she could have ever imagined.
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A thoroughly absorbing saga. . .
- By E. Stacy Creamer on 02-20-23
By: Di Morrissey
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Mesmerizing !
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What listeners say about The Cat's Table
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Performance
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- myra
- 12-12-11
Read by the author; how special is that!
Have you listened to any of Michael Ondaatje’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
I absoutely loved listening to the author read his own book. This added a particularly wonderful and unique quality to this audiobook. Loved the story.
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- Colleen
- 11-27-12
Quiet and Unassuming, but Insightful
Michael Ondaatje is a wonderful writer, choosing his words and phrases so carefully that you can spend hours just enjoying the writing itself. However, he is not a great narrator. He speaks in a quiet, hurried way, with a bit of an accent that can make it hard to catch what he's saying. This is a good book to listen to if you are trying to go to sleep.
The story is that of the author's trip from Sri Lanka to England, by boat, when he was 11. He travelled alone, but was watched over by the adults who shared his table at dinner (nicknamed "The Cat's Table" because it was so far from the Captain's table), and befriended by other children also travelling alone. He is the observer and the student - interpreting what he saw, now, as an adult. The story is poignant and touching. I would not say that it is as good as The English Patient, but it is well written.
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1 person found this helpful
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Performance
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Story
- R. Ro
- 01-09-12
Enchanting
What made the experience of listening to The Cat's Table the most enjoyable?
It is hard to know whether it's the author reading his own work, his language or the wonder of the story that makes this book so captivating. On every level it is a wonderful tale of adventure and growth.
What did you like best about this story?
I was totally immersed in the story which is a tale of a boy traveling to England on his own. He befriends two other boys on the ship and proceed to have adventures that are both exciting and believable. The adults who influence them on this journey are colorful and beautiful described.
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- Michael M. Rijssenbeek
- 11-19-24
Dreamlike, witty, brilliant
What a privilege to listen to Michael Ondaatje read his own words. The colourful stories are entwined with such ease all coming back each time to a 21 day voyage that took the protagonist from Sri Lanka to England, and childhood naivety to a blossoming young manhood. I loved every second.
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- Leah Ann Henry
- 08-31-15
review
struggled to finish, but likely would not take it up again in the near future.
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- libbe
- 02-23-12
Interesting story
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
Yes, especially if the person is a fan of the author.
What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)
I've read that Mr. Ondaatje is not big on character development. He also leaves a number of unanswered questions in the story. All of these techniques put more responsibility on the reader. In this book he points out that with art, the artists expression is not complete without the viewer. So, in this books, his writing is not complete until we, the reader, finish the story.
What aspect of Michael Ondaatje’s performance would you have changed?
It was an adequate performance, however I generally appreciate a narrator that uses more inflection.
Was The Cat's Table worth the listening time?
Yes, for me it was.
Any additional comments?
Mr. Ondaatje has a keen use of description and metaphor and I enjoyed numerous passages.
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2 people found this helpful
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- dub
- 02-08-12
Captivating
This is a three-fer: intriguing storyline, fantastic prose, and captivating narration by the author. His voice compels you to listen, and impels you into his voyeuristic world on board ship and beyond.
I've been disappointed in the last two Ondaatje novels, but this has the poetry and observation of his best work, and the power of a whirlpool to draw you in to the violence under the calm.
I've bought a half-dozen copies as presents; well worth it.
Captivating.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Barbara
- 01-30-12
The delightful voice of memory
Michael Ondaatje reads this memoir-like novel so lovingly it s a treat to listen to. in fact, I keep listening again and again to parts at random. In this way the book is a collection of magical stories and can be enjoyed in any order and repeatedly. The magic is in seeing the events unfold on the ship from the point of view of a curious and sensitive child.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Helka L Gordon
- 01-17-12
Authors reading their books
What did you like best about The Cat's Table? What did you like least?
I was interested in the story but had a hard time understanding the reader.
The authors are seldom good narrators.
Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Michael Ondaatje?
A person with clear voice and narrating talents which Ondaatje does not have.
Was The Cat's Table worth the listening time?
No, I'll have to get a it in book form.
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4 people found this helpful
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- S. Munnell
- 06-20-12
Authors should never record their own books
Just saying - Ondaatje writes lyrically, speaks sloppily. I have listened to 4 books read by their authors, and only 1 really worked for me.
Ondaatie's voice is so old for his fictional self, Michael. It wasn't until the very end of the novel that his fascination with Emily becomes clearer, and the kind of impact I remember in English Patient is present. Expected more.
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2 people found this helpful