Reading with Fur People

 Recently, some of the resident fur people joined me in reading a delightful book about a member of their species.

The Reading Group: Claudine, Grover, Otis, Orville, Tanner, & Charlotte

The Fur Person, by May Sarton, was originally published in 1957, and has been republished several times since then. A friend—and fellow cat-lover—suggested the book to me and I found a copy of the 2016 reprint on Amazon. While it looks like The Fur Person might be a children's book, it is not. This opening paragraph from "Sarton, 'the Fur Person,' Explores Cats and People" by Jonathan Beecher (March 1, 1957) gives you a good idea of the book's premise:

If The Fur Person is not like any children's book you have ever read, that may be because it isn't a children's book. It is an adult's biography of a cat who became her pet and then her friend. May Sarton knows how to tell an adult about a cat. The usual hurdles of condescension and over-indulgence cause her no trouble. And she conspicuously avoids the Walt Disney custom of fastening human personalities onto animals. And that, in fact, is what the book is about.

 

 

The Kirkus Review succinctly summarizes the plot:

Here's how the book begins:

The Fur Person is beautifully and elegantly written. Sarton, in her tale of her cat Tom Jones, captures the essence of cat-ness. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I think the resident cats did too.

In case you were wondering about "The Ten Commandments of a Gentleman  Cat," here they are:

1. A Gentleman Cat has a immaculate shirt front and paws at all times.
2. A Gentleman Catalow no constraint of his person, even loving constraint.
3. A Gentleman Catdoes not mew except in extremity. He make his wishes known and waits.
4. When addressed, a Gentleman Cat does not move a muscle. He looks as if he hadn't heard.
5. When frightened, a Gentleman Cat loks bored.
6. A Gentleman Cat takes no interest in other people's affairs, unless he is directly concerned.
7. A Gentleman Cat never hurries toward an objective, never looks as if he wanted just one thing, is not polite.
8. A Gentleman Cat approaches food slowly, however hungry he may be, and decides at least three feet away whethr it is Good, Fair, Passable, or Unworthy. If Unworthy, he pretends to scratch dirt over it.
9. A Gentleman Cat gives thanks for a Worthy meal, by licking the plate so clean that a person might think it had been washed.
10. A Gentleman Cat is never hasty when choosing a housekeeper.

I highly recommend this book. So do the resident cats—er, fur people.

~