Monday 23 May 2011

Varjak Paw by SF Said

Varjak Paw
Varjak is a Mesoptamian Blue, the most noble of cat races. But he is not a true one, as his brother likes to remind him. His eyes are the wrong colour, the colour of danger, instead of green like the rest of his family.

They all live in the countess house, but things have been different for a while, they never see the countess, she is always in her room. When a strange gentleman with 2 black cats appears only Varjak and his grandfather sense the danger. Varjak's grandfather gives him the mission of finding help. It means going outside the wall that surrounds the house, and finding a dog. Varjak has never left home, and the only help from his gradfather is the Way, and even that is an incomplete knowledge. Varjak has to face the city, while learning the Way by himself.

Varjak Paw is a kid's book - it is a good story, with nice messages, fun parts and a lot of action. Yet, it's a kid's book, so it's a simple story, a kind of Karate Kid, with cats. You read it fast, you are amused, but you are not amazed and it's easy to get on with your next read.

For the little ones, it's a very nice book. But it loses its charm with older people. But this is just the story.

Now let's talk illustrations. Because the illustrations alone are the reason I'll keep this book. Unsurprisingly, they are of cats. But they are really good, and give a new dimension to the story. Dave McKean is a great illustrator, I knew that from other books, and this one is no exception.


Rating: 3.5 out of 5

This Book on: LibraryThing | GoodReads | BookDepository UK | Book Depository US | Amazon UK| Amazon US| Gam.co

7 comments:

  1. The cover is so cute `O.O´ and I love the cat's name.

    So...where's Crown Duel's review? xD don't feel pressured about it though *poke-poke-poke*applies pressures on*poke-poke-poke*

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  2. Ohh... I'm not feeling pressured at all. You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to write 2 reviews before that one, spend most of my free time reading Felix Palma's book, most of my not-exactly-free-but-still-pretty-boring-at-times time at work working on There, and then I'll just finish the stuff I have to do to AICEP, and then I'll laugh evilly and only then will I get on to do said review. (Am I evil or what?)

    (And yes, the cover and the cats, and all the illustrations are really cool. And it's extra cool that the family name is Paw :D)

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  3. What if I die in the meantime? It could happen... and then I shall never know... *sighs dramatically- Pixie style*

    And btw, don't you Felix-J.-Palma me, you minx! I found him first! *evil stare*

    I'm giving you a "Nay!" in this post --- REVENGE! (the only one possible)

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  4. If you die, you die without knowing. Mwaahahah.

    You might have found him first (THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR DOING SO!!! Thank you! Thank you!), but I'm the one who is able to read is books! 2nd Mwahahahaha!

    You'll have the review in a week, don't worry. And don't die in the mean time.

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  5. Okay, but don't forget, I could die until then...I really could...*does a Jiminy Cricket type of voice* your godmother, the only one left from 3, the only one who didn't flee or went nuts, don't you forget...

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  6. Jeeez...calm down, girl. Does Sunday work for you? Can you stay alive until Sunday? I promise to post it in the morning, maybe even Saturday night depending on what I might be doing.

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