 Senior writer/explorer develops awareness of cats., 1997-07-14
In his many years of travel and artistic and psychic exploration, Mr. Burroughs encountered a wide variety of mentalities. Whether or not they were comprehensible to the rest of us, he described them and commented on their apparent roles in the universe. When he finally settled outside an east Kansas college town, he gradually became strongly involved with those small, furry, almost-alien creatures we call cats. Why humans interact so deeply with some nonhuman species, and even how those species arose, are questions this small, poetic book considers. It is much more though, a record of a man's emotional interactions with some quite different types of mind and what they revealed to him. At the least, it may bring the reader to pause at the next encounter with a cat of the house or street, and carefully consider the reserved appraisal one receives from those clear eyes.
The True Beauty Of The Feline World, 2003-09-28
This is truly one of the most beautifully written books that I have ever read and I say this unbiasedly despite being the proud owner of a most gorgeous female tabby moggy. THE CAT INSIDE is a personal, revealing account by Burroughs of the various cats that came into his life and written in a manner quite far-removed from that of the out-of-control, nightmarish quality of his more well-known novels like JUNKY and NAKED LUNCH. THE CAT INSIDE by contrast is quite meditative and mellow, filled with affectionate and moving anecdotes of those most beautiful creatures of the feline world, cats like the inimitable Ruski, Calico Jane, Ed, Horatio etc etc, stretching from Tangier in Morroco to that of The Stone House somewhere in the United States. In addition, there are enigmatic references to other creatures of the animal world like the badger shot by a pig of a redneck camp counsellor at a Los Alamos boys camp and that of dogs, described by Burroughs as 'natural enemies of the State' and 'symbolic of the lynch mob mentality of the human race'. Despite the change in style, Burroughs fans will still recognise the laconic, offbeat writing style which is a Burroughs trademark and there is plenty to both laugh and cry over as the book progresses. THE CAT INSIDE also comes across to the casual reader as an allegory of the history in which mankind viewed the feline species and Burroughs indeed describes a time when he realised that he was chosen to be a 'Guardian', to create and nurture a creature that is part feline, part human and part something unimaginable of which a union has not take place for millions of years.Despite what I regard as ramblings as to the role of dogs in the animal world, the reader of THE CAT INSIDE will find it hard to put down this book, once started. In my opinion, no other book has ever so movingly and wittily examined why humans have such an indeterminable affinity with and attachment with the domestic cat. Sit back and be prepared to be moved emotionally like you have never been moved before. To quote a passage by Burroughs ... "We are the cats inside. We are the cats who cannot walk alone, and for us there is only one place".
Poetic, Soft, and Generous, 1998-07-05
Every cat lover should read this book. This is such a touching account of the cats that come and go in Burroughs' life, with which every human graced by feline presence will identify. Burroughs is poetic, soft, and generous here. Who could have known the same man to write 'Junkie' and 'Naked Lunch' would be inspired to write a Warm Fuzzy?
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