Rating: 
Summary: My vocabulary is inadequate...
Review: ...to describe how this book made me feel. It is poignant, it is bittersweet, it is joyful, and it is more. The descriptions in this book were exquisite, the characters were well-drawn, the lessons were apropos to any society at any time but even more so to today's American society -- and the book was filled with cats, which is always a plus in my eyes. If you've ever felt like an outsider, I think you will appreciate this book, and I hope you will love it as much as I did. And if you've never felt like an outsider, then, in my opinion, you definitely need to read this book. It will open your eyes. I recommend this book to absolutely everyone. And their cats. :-)
Rating:
Summary: My vocabulary is inadequate...
Review: ...to describe how this book made me feel. It is poignant, it is bittersweet, it is joyful, and it is more. The descriptions in this book were exquisite, the characters were well-drawn, the lessons were apropos to any society at any time but even more so to today's American society -- and the book was filled with cats, which is always a plus in my eyes. If you've ever felt like an outsider, I think you will appreciate this book, and I hope you will love it as much as I did. And if you've never felt like an outsider, then, in my opinion, you definitely need to read this book. It will open your eyes. I recommend this book to absolutely everyone. And their cats. :-)
Rating:
Summary: Strong allegory
Review: Half cat, Kat the Catwoman lives her fifth life amidst fifty felines. She avoids human contact as she has long memories of prejudice, poverty, and death at the hands of her so called superior side. Instead, Kat lives in a self-made haven secure from the feral mentality of humanity.However, her Eden ends when a half cat male Angelo accidentally blunders into her mirage. Headmaster of a nearby communal high school, Angelo persuades Kat to return to reality by teaching the true history as she knows it, not that heroic rah-rah bunk found in textbooks. As she adapts to being welcomed and even popular, an incident shatters her mirage bringing back the true perspective of mankind when a child is stoned to death by his peers. THE FIFTH LIFE OF THE CATWOMAN is a powerful allegory that looks at the dark side of humanity as prejudice and hatred defeats Utopia and love in everybody's life. The message cleverly implies that nine lives may not be enough to overcome the ferocious animosity that serves as man's basic reaction to anyone outside the "norm". Kathleen Dexter provides a potent indictment of intolerance and the need to emphasize the positive virtues of difference so that consensus leads to harmony. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: I don't really remember it
Review: I read this book last year, and I don't remember much about it, but I remember that I loved it. I love cats, first of all, so that helped, but I just really liked it, for whatever reason that was. I'm trying to buy it so that I can read it some more. Kathleen Dexter is my friend's aunt, and I would be honored if I were my friend to have such a talented author of an aunt.
Rating:
Summary: Fifth Life of the Catwoman
Review: I was given this book as a review item for Kinships Magazine (no longer in print), and I admit I was originally dubious. My reservations were not necessary. The book begins with gorgeous detail of time and place. I was pulled into the story immediately, and I hated to put the book down. Needless to say, my review was a glowing report!!
Rating:
Summary: Fifth Life of the Catwoman
Review: I was given this book as a review item for Kinships Magazine (no longer in print), and I admit I was originally dubious. My reservations were not necessary. The book begins with gorgeous detail of time and place. I was pulled into the story immediately, and I hated to put the book down. Needless to say, my review was a glowing report!!
Rating:
Summary: A Book for Teachers
Review: One of the great lessons I have learned from being a teacher is that students learn more from experience than from just reading and taking notes from a lecture. Ms. Dexter has reaffirmed that belief with her wonder novel, FIFTH LIFE OF THE CATWOMAN. Kat is a woman who has been called out of her world that is inhabited by 50 cats to teach history in a small rural school. For her, history is more than the dates of wars and political/religious unrest; it is also the stories of those who have suffered as a result of those wars and unrest. She challenges her students to experience first hand: hunger, loss, prejudice, and injustice. This is a must read for all teachers.
Rating:
Summary: Great storytelling and a much needed call for tolerance!
Review: This delightful book follows a womans journey from fear and isolation to a very magical redemtion with the help of an oddly believable cast of empathic cats and a timeline of many lifetimes.Sensitively written elegantly paced, Dexters book offers a very personal view into a world as real as any we may dream for ourselves.
Rating:
Summary: 5 stars isn't enough
Review: This is an incredible book on love, life and the unfairness and stupidity of history. And cats fascination with tuna. I don't often get emotional when reading a book, although a good movie can bring me to tears if well done. This book made me cry with happiness, with anger and it made me laugh out loud and smile one heckuva lot. I cannot recommend this book enough. Although this is the only book I have ever read by Ms. Dexter, I truly enjoyed it and look forward to other books by her. If this is the best she has ever done, well, that's fine, because this book is masterful.
Rating:
Summary: Best kept secret
Review: This is one of the best books I have ever read. It is a shame it has not received more publicity. Every person I loan this book to falls in love with it. Kathleen Dexter has a unique talent for teaching lessons by example without preaching. It is a beautiful story which will entertain you and make you cry yet you will feel really good when you complete the story. Make sure you start reading Friday night and be prepared to devote you entire weekend because you won't be able to put it down!
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