Jenny and the Cat Club by Esther Averill

Title: Jenny and the Cat Club
Author: Esther Averill
Publisher: NYRB Children’s Collection
ISBN: 978-1590170472
Genre: Children’s Books, Children’s Fiction
Pages: 176
Source: Personal Copy
Rating: 5 Stars

This is an adorable book which all cat lovers and non-cat lovers must also read. What else do I say about this? Esther Averill successfully created a series about Jenny Linski, the cat and her friends, when cats weren’t that hipster. This book, “Jenny and the Cat Club” is the first in the series of many cat books written by Esther and I so intend reading all of them – one after the other.

Being the first book, it introduces readers to Jenny and how she became a part of the cat club. It is about her life with her owner known as the captain. She is an orphaned black cat with her trademark red scarf. The book is set in Greenwich Village.

It is one of the most endearing books I’ve read in a very long time. The stories are old-fashioned for sure, and yet there is this enduring charm about them that makes you want to be in that place and experience the way those stories turned out.

Esther never used too many words to tell a story. Brevity was the key and one can see work itself beautifully in these stories. I cannot resist but mention the illustrations. They are simple and beautifully drawn by the author herself. Hence the personal touch and the knowing of how each cat will look. What makes the book so wonderful is the presence of so many cats. You just want them to keep conversing and know more about the mysterious cat world.

I am so glad I ordered this book and read it. I am glad I stumbled on it and I recommend every parent to buy this book and read it to their children. Your child will love you for it and you will love introducing something new to your child.

Tolstoy, Rasputin, Others, and Me: The Best of Teffi by Teffi

Title: Tolstoy, Rasputin, Others, and Me: The Best of Teffi
Author: Teffi
Edited by: Robert Chandler and Anne Marie Jackson
Publisher: NYRB Classics
ISBN: 978-1590179963
Genre: Non-Fiction, Literature, Essays
Pages: 224
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4 Stars

Some books are just so good that you want them to last longer than they did – to savour them, every single word then become precious. Teffi is one such author whose works you just want to soak in and want the words to linger long after. I got to know of her through the NYRB website and knew I just had to read this one – because of the author’s associations with literary giants such as Tolstoy and how she got to meet the very famously infamous Rasputin, not once but twice.

Teffi’s experiences are what this book is about – short autobiographical pieces that are sometimes funny, mostly catty and unforgettable for sure. These pieces were written in the 20s and 30s when she was in exile in Paris. There is a touch of poetic quality to her prose (no wonder because she wanted to be a poet anyway).

A lot of wit, human understanding of the world and empathy shine in every essay and that is what I love about the collection. Sure there are parts that I couldn’t relate to (because of the cultural barrier), however what I read was enough to tide me over to be able to understand the beauty of her language and the points she was trying to make.

From speaking of her childhood most vividly to the Russian cultural phenomenon, nothing is left out. The essays show us the Russia that was quite forward in its approach when it came to the arts to the Russia that was turbulent and oppressive at the same time.

The book is divided into four parts – first being about how she lived and worked, second about personal aspects of her life – from how she was raised to her time in France, the third one is about her bizarre encounters with people and the fourth is about famous authors and writers. She truly did have a sense of understanding people and reading them quite accurately.

Teffi’s writing is crystal clear and she says what she has to without mincing any words. You might have to keep track of the people she mentions on and off in the book, but there is a guide for that at the end of the book as well. I am completely taken in by her writing after reading this collection of essays and plan to read some more of her for sure. You must read this collection of essays for sure, if history is of any interest to you.

Where I’m Reading From: The Changing World of Books by Tim Parks

Title: Where I’m Reading From: The Changing World of Books
Author: Tim Parks
Publisher: New York Review Books
ISBN: 978-1590178843
Genre: Non-Fiction, Reading, Bibliography
Pages: 256
Source: Publisher:
Rating: 4/5

Ever since I remember, I have loved books about books. It helps me discover new books. It helps me widen my reading horizon. It also makes me see how other people view books and reading. Tim Parks, given his portfolio on books and reviewing, him being a writer, critic and everything rolled into one, there could have been no better person to write about books and the love of reading them.

“Where I’m Reading From” speaks of books in the past, how they are viewed in the present and what is really the future of books. The book is extremely thought-provoking and makes a lot of sense most of the time. I did find myself disagreeing on some of his essays but I guess there is always this dialogue between the reader and the writer which must take place, whether it is pleasant or not.

The book is divided into four sections – the world around the book, the book in the world, the writer’s world and writing across worlds. Each section makes you nostalgic about books and reading. Each section is about how we read and how it impacts every stage of our lives.

Of course, Parks is highly opinionated but then that is how it works when it comes to most art forms and critics alike. These essays are all about the world and its connection to books and readers. For one, I was thoroughly engaged and at the same time I had to keep the book aside and just think of what I have read in the past and what I am reading now.

“Where I’m Reading From” takes its name from Raymond Carver’s beautiful short story “Where I’m Calling From” and does justice to the title in every way. The collection of essays is stunning and makes you think of books over and over again as a reader.