Synopsis
The author offers a deeply personal fantasy tale about dreams lost and found, friendship, and the unique relationship that exists between cats and humans.
Reviews
Beagle's newest (after Tasmin, 1999) is a charming reflection on dreams and the afterlife set in modern-day Manhattan. Unambitious actor Jake Holtz, who narrates, is introduced to the profound as the spirit of his best friend, dancer Sam Kagan, possesses the body of his female Abyssinian cat, Millamant, two years after Sam's death. Sam stuns his former lover, Emilia Rossi, and Jake by practicing leaps and pirouettes that were once impossible for his less flexible human body. Switching fluidly from past to present, Beagle charts Jake's friendship with Sam, from childhood on, in concise yet lyric prose. This book is brief, but it presents a wealth of impressive ruminations on love, longing and the power of the bonds between people. From its opening pages, a sullenly beautiful mood permeates the narrative and lingers throughout Jake's sobering reflections and witty dialogue. Despite his inclusion of the ethereal, Beagle successfully illuminates: "Not facts, but the accuracy under and around and beyond facts. Not a recital of events not even honestyDbut truth."
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Some two years after the sudden death of Sam Kagan, actor Jacob Holtz gets a call from Emily--Emilia, Sam always called her, the young, late love in his life--about Sam's old cat, Millamant. The cat is dancing magnificently, and Jake has to see it, Emilia says, so she'll be in California with Millamant next Tuesday. The call triggers Jake's memories of the earlier one with the bad news and of the friendship that began when he and Sam were stage-struck Brooklyn high-school kids. Unlike Jake, Sam didn't succeed at his first love, ballet, and became a critic, though not of dance. Shortly after Emilia and Millamant arrive, it becomes evident that Sam's spirit has returned. Through Millamant, he is realizing the movements he couldn't execute as a human. There is a bittersweet resolution to Beagle's characteristically warm take on a theme, spirit possession, that other fantasists exploit for chills only. Those who like their fantasy only a wee bit eerie shouldn't miss this little tale. Ray Olson
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