The Cat’s Table by Michael Ondaatje (McClelland & Stewart)
A new book by Michael Ondaatje is bound to be a big deal, and The Cat’s Table does not disappoint. Like his 1982 memoir Running in the Family, the novel freely mixes fact and fiction, recounting the sea voyage of an 11-year-old narrator, also named Michael, from colonial Ceylon to England. Written with a clarity of vision that will be welcomed by readers turned off by the obliqueness of his recent work (in particular, 2007’s divisive Divisadero), the novel remains recognizably Ondaatje-esque, both for its non-linear narrative and striking lyricism. “Certain experiences are galvanizing and become indelible, shaping a life,” wrote Q&Q’s Ami Sands Brodoff in a starred review. “Such is true of the sea voyage at the heart of Michael Ondaatje’s sixth novel, a story so enveloping and beautifully rendered, one is reluctant to disembark at the end of the journey.”
