Cat Who Wished to Be a Man

Rating:
Summary: Carrie C.
Review: I really like this book because you see life from a cat's
point of veiw. When the cat has been turned into a man.

Rating:
Summary: Sweet
Review: Lloyd Alexander is best known for his Prydain Chronicles and Vesper Holly adventures, but his smaller, lighter reads are worth the pick-up as well.

Lionel wants to be a man. The little cat, who has the ability to speak, lives with crotchety wizard Stephanus, who stormed out of the village of Brightford when the people misused his gifts to them out of greed and malice. Stephanus keeps refusing to turn Lionel into a man, but finally does with the promise that Lionel will return when he's done. The cat-turned-man travels to Brightford, where his innocent nature rapidly gets him into hot water. Brightford is run by the rotten, greedy little Mayor Pursewig, who is trying to bully out everyone into his debt.

He ends up meeting the lovely (and very irritable) Gillian, a local innkeeper who is being threatened by Pursewig; also Owlbert, her little scrub-boy sidekick, and Doctor Tudbelly, a local medical charlatan with a good heart and a fondness for gratuitous Latin phrases. When the malicious Pursewig (whom Lionel repeatedly and innocently insults) and the equally rotten Swaggart decide to get rid of the newcomers, Lionel learns what it is to be a real human being.

This book isn't as emotionally deep as some of Alexander's works; nevertheless, it has an excellent message. Stephanus thinks that all humans are greedy and malicious, yet a guy called Tolliver informs Lionel at one point, "what may be true for a cat isn't always true for a man." Lionel gets to see both sides of the coin: Swaggart, Pursewig and their greed and and injustice; Dr. Tudbelly, Gillian and Owlbert, his selfless friends who are willing to go the extra mile as he is for them.

Lionel's innocence is a good counterpoint to the more seasoned people; his innocent insults and occasional lapses into "cattiness" are very entertaining. Especially enjoyed his repeated claims that he's not a man, he's a cat. Gillian is vintage Lloyd Alexander, a tough and independent gal who isn't afraid to let the guy she loves know when he's being an idiot. Dr. Tudbelly will be recognizable to fans of Fflewddur Fflam, with his heart of gold and inability to get his potions straight.

We see too little of Stephanus to really form much of an opinion; I thought he was a bit hard on Lionel. Pursewig is the secondary kind of fantasy villain, the mewling, cowardly, rather pathetic type. Swaggart seemed like more of a real menace, as he is amoral and has the muscle to back it up.

Alexander's trademarked humor is sprinkled throughout this tale, with such things as the newly-human Lionel bounding into Stephanus's lap, and Stephanus announcing, "you've got your arms in the legs of your breeches, and your legs in your shirtsleeves. And your boots on the wrong feet" only to have Lionel reply pitifully, "But they're the only feet I have now." Lionel's catty behavior among the humans also adds a bit of comic relief.

A very sweet little tale for fantasy buffs.

Rating:
Summary: A Light and Fun Read
Review: The Cat Who Wished to Be a Man by Lloyd Alexander is a short and entertaining read which also has some commentary on the human condition.

The novel is about Lionel. He is a cat. One day, he asks his master/sorcerer if he would change him into a man anyway. The sorcerer doesn't have a very high opinion of man, but he ends up changing Lionel into a man. Lionel then travels into the city. There, he finds corruption of all kinds. He finds a mayor who is greedy and power-hungry. The captain of the guard is corrupt. Huge numbers of offenses happen to Lionel. But Lionel also finds some friends. He meets Dr. Tudbelly and falls for Mistriss Gillian. Lionel eventually has to fight against his enemies for his friends and try to stay a human.

The Cat Who Wished to Be a Man is a commentary on life. Through the eyes of a naive creature, Alexander exposes some of the failures of mankind. Alexander also shows the greatness because love and justice can prevail. Alexander makes all of these observations in a thrilling and at times funny story. The Cat Who Wished to Be a Man is not Alexander's greatest book. It just is not quite as entertaining or insightful as his Westmark Trilogy, Prydain Chronicals, or The Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian, but Alexander never has written a book worth less than five stars. The Cat Who Wished to Be a Man is a great piece of literature for people of all ages.