Monday, March 19, 2012

Rhamah Norris's "Cats" Response


            Rhamah’s story begins with cat aficionado, Cat Lady, and her unnamed helper.  The Cat Lady’s home is filled with homeless cats looking for new owners.  The narrator observes the Cat Lady and a few of her customers in the home.  The latest customer, a young teenage boy, enters and is left in horror as the once perceived kind one-eyed cat, Lily, lashes out at him.
            There are a lot of things that I like about this story.  One of the initial ideas that I can bring to mind is the author’s attention to perspective.  It seems that the narrator is simply an unofficial employee or maybe a neighbor.  But, I like how she/he sympathizes with the cats.  It’s almost as if Rhamah is giving these cats dialogue and commentary of their own until the final sequence with an unfamiliar Lily reacts to her possible new owner.  Secondly, I really enjoyed the attention to detail.  Everything became incredibly visual and aesthetically pleasing in the best way.  Some of my favorites include some spilt cat food that crunches when you step on it, or the description of the pudgy girl and her “sausage” fingers.  I absolutely love it.
            The only thing that I see the story missing is a more clear direction.  The characters are intriguing, but I have no real understanding of what the story is truly about.  This could just be me and my perception of the first reading, but I am curious to see other members of the class respond to my query.  I simply saw a lack of motivation, but plenty of observation.  I was rooting for narrator who was rooting for the cats.
            There is plenty of interesting stuff included in the story and if the author can tie up a few loose ends it could be incredible.  In all, I think this story great.  There’s plenty of great writing and detail to back up such a claim.

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