Trisha Shetty (Editor)

Time Cat: The Remarkable Journeys of Jason and Gareth

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
7
/
10
1
Votes
Alchetron
7
7
1 Ratings
100
90
80
71
60
50
40
30
20
10
Rate This

Rate This


Country
  
ISBN
  
0-14-240107-2 (Puffin)

Author
  
OCLC
  
872567416

3.8/5
Goodreads

3.8/5
AbeBooks

Pages
  
191 (first); 206 pp

Originally published
  
1963

Publisher
  
Henry Holt and Company

Time Cat: The Remarkable Journeys of Jason and Gareth t0gstaticcomimagesqtbnANd9GcS2i6mlUXYge6XcpG

Cover artist
  
Bill SokolWayne McLoughlin (Puffin)

Publication date
  
19632004, Puffin Books

Media type
  
Genres
  
Novel, Fantasy, Children's literature, Speculative fiction

Similar
  
Works by Lloyd Alexander, Children's literature

Time Cat (1963) is a fantasy novel by Lloyd Alexander, an American writer of more than forty books, primarily fantasy fiction for children. It was his first children's fantasy.

Contents

Origins

Alexander succeeded on his first try writing fantasy for children, which he later called "the most creative and liberating experience of my life." The book was Time Cat (1963), a fantasy inspired by one of his pet cats, Solomon. Solomon would visit the office while Alexander was working, but the author would never see him come or go. He recalled in 1999:

I began to have a private joke, playing a game as it were, pretending that he could somehow appear and disappear whenever he wanted to. ... If a cat has nine lives, maybe he's gone off to visit one of his nine lives. At that moment, it suddenly occurred to me - this sounds like an idea for a whole book. Each chapter would be one of his nine lives. I didn't give him a credit in the book. But I should have, even though he didn't do any work.

The nine settings were "nine places in the past that a cat would logically visit", discovered by reading and research.

Plot summary

Jason learns that his cat, Gareth, is able to talk and has the power to travel to nine different points in world history (his "nine lives"). Jason convinces Gareth to take him along and their adventures begin where cats are considered in divine, Ancient Egypt in the year 2700 BC.

Subsequently they visit Rome, where they are taken in by the Old Cats of Caesar. There, they are kidnapped to a village where Cerdric Longtooth, the chieftain of the village tries to burn him but his wife objects. Later on, the villagers find out about Gareth. They refer to Gareth as a "Catamountain." Jason takes this opportunity to pretend to be the beholder of the supposedly Ferocious beast. They later on become friends with the village and leave after another catamountain arrives. This time, with kittens. Later, they visit Britain (55 BC), Ireland (AD 411), Japan (998), Italy (1468), Peru (1555), the Isle of Man (1588), Germany (1600), and America (1775).

After nine episodes they return home. Gareth says he will never again speak to Jason, and he forbids Jason ever to mention their travels to anyone. It is not difficult for Jason to obey, since he doubts that anyone would believe his story. However, he has acquired an ankh pendant as a memento and he uses it to communicate with Gareth without talking.

References

Time Cat: The Remarkable Journeys of Jason and Gareth Wikipedia


Similar Topics