Looking for something to read (in English), I discovered the library at Hikarigoaka park, and to my delight they have English books! The first one I read was The Cat Who Went Up The Creek. Being a cat-lover the title caught my eye and I thought I'd give it a go. The blurb on the back implied it was some kind of murder mystery.
I soon discovered the book wasn't really about a cat, as such, but about a part-time journalist, Jim Qwilleran, who owns not one, but two Siamese cats. Don't cringe when too much when you hear their names...Koko and Yum Yum. Yes. As you can probably guess, these are two very pampered felines. But as Qwilleran says, they're the only family he's got. There are times when I kind of rolled my eyes at their high social status, but I told myself it's just part of painting the character and I should worry more about the storyline.
Speaking of which, I thought it would be a pretty standard who-dunnit storyline. The scene for murder set-up, the suspects laid-out, the character comes across and heavily ponders clues, before finally the light-bulb moment occurs and they know who the culprit is and face a dangerous moment of confrontation, before gaining victory and making the killer known to the police who show up just at the right time.
Well, this book is a little different! If I didn't read the blurb I probably wouldn't have realised it was a murder mystery. There's some mystery initially which the main character, Qwilleran attempts to solve, but it soon becomes apparent that it is of little consequence. Instead, it leads into the events which gradually build to form the greater mystery, of murder and motive. But this is still somewhat hidden among the other events within the book. In fact, when the first body is discovered (by Koko, the cat who went up the creek, incidently), not much attention is given to it by Qwilleran. Kind of like "Hmm that's unfortunate...I wonder what's for dinner?" You almost want to say "Hey! A dead body! Aren't you going to investigate?" But after calling the cops, he literally does nothing.
The book continues, with other events and people and happenings, eventually leading to another murder. Along the way, Koko sniffs out a few clues and even predicts or senses the second murder. Despite not getting a huge amount of attention throughout the story, we are told that Koko has a bit of a gift for sensing these things and pointing out clues. It is through this and other circumstantial evidence that Qwilleran, in consulation with his detective friend, eventually determines who the murderer is, and the motive. But there is no confrontation, no confirmation of the motive itself, we told of the arrest which has occurred and are left to accept Qwilleran's theory as fact, and trust the instincts of the cat who went up the creek.
While a little unconventional, I did enjoy reading the book. The people within it are interesting and it kept my interest going hearing about them and little connections in the history of the people and place. The story keeps moving along at a nice pace. I'm not too good with names though, and a lot of names are dropped along the way which the reader is expected to remember and piece together, so I got a little lost in the subplots at times. I was also amused everytime it mentions Qwilleran stroking his moustache (i.e., in thought), as I kept forgetting to picture him with a moustache. I'm not really a big moustache fan, but I guess it suits his character. But anyway, it was overall an enjoyable read and I was a bit sad when the book was over.
What are your thoughts?
Well, this book is a little different! If I didn't read the blurb I probably wouldn't have realised it was a murder mystery. There's some mystery initially which the main character, Qwilleran attempts to solve, but it soon becomes apparent that it is of little consequence. Instead, it leads into the events which gradually build to form the greater mystery, of murder and motive. But this is still somewhat hidden among the other events within the book. In fact, when the first body is discovered (by Koko, the cat who went up the creek, incidently), not much attention is given to it by Qwilleran. Kind of like "Hmm that's unfortunate...I wonder what's for dinner?" You almost want to say "Hey! A dead body! Aren't you going to investigate?" But after calling the cops, he literally does nothing.
The book continues, with other events and people and happenings, eventually leading to another murder. Along the way, Koko sniffs out a few clues and even predicts or senses the second murder. Despite not getting a huge amount of attention throughout the story, we are told that Koko has a bit of a gift for sensing these things and pointing out clues. It is through this and other circumstantial evidence that Qwilleran, in consulation with his detective friend, eventually determines who the murderer is, and the motive. But there is no confrontation, no confirmation of the motive itself, we told of the arrest which has occurred and are left to accept Qwilleran's theory as fact, and trust the instincts of the cat who went up the creek.
While a little unconventional, I did enjoy reading the book. The people within it are interesting and it kept my interest going hearing about them and little connections in the history of the people and place. The story keeps moving along at a nice pace. I'm not too good with names though, and a lot of names are dropped along the way which the reader is expected to remember and piece together, so I got a little lost in the subplots at times. I was also amused everytime it mentions Qwilleran stroking his moustache (i.e., in thought), as I kept forgetting to picture him with a moustache. I'm not really a big moustache fan, but I guess it suits his character. But anyway, it was overall an enjoyable read and I was a bit sad when the book was over.
What are your thoughts?
No comments:
Post a Comment