DIARY OF A BUDDHIST CAT

 by JULIAN WORKER;  

An Adventure Book Review by Erin the Cat Princess©

 

Hello, and welcome to my Saturday Book Review featuring Adventures in Fiction!

This week, for our adult followers and feline loving fans everywhere, we have the UTTER DELIGHT of reviewing a book by JULIAN WORKER, called DIARY OF A BUDDHIST CAT.

Julian also writes mystery adventures as well as travel books. Born in the UK, he has travelled to almost 100 countries across the globe. He currently lives and works in Vancouver, Canada.

This book features Freddie, a three ish year old black and white cat.

DIARY OF A BUDDHIST CAT, by JULIAN WORKER

Published by: MIRADOR PUBLISHING.

Paperback ISBN: 978 – 1 – 914965 – 14 -2

Cover price for Paperback £11.99, KINDLE £2.99 

Pages 245.

Published: 19 September 2021

Age range: Upper YA and Adult.

Any Cats? Oh yes!

Category: Clean adult humour.

SPOILER ALERT?

No spoilers here.

Disclaimer.

We were lucky enough to see and down load for free this book on NetGalley, and only too happy to share this unsponsored review with you.

The plot

Freddie is a black and white cat determined to follow the Buddhist path. It was the only book on religion his previous human had. But when that human throws Freddie at the vet rather than pay the bill, Freddie’s life changes. Made well by the kindly vet, he is adopted into a new home with John and Mary, two loving, caring, and quite normal and educated humans. They had previously adopted Gemma, a feline with a grudge against humans in general, for their fascist jackboot ways. Her reason is that some humans took her kittens away from her when she most needed them for support. Now, she refuses to kowtow to their oppressive ways, despite John’s and Mary’s kindness. 

Gemma and Freddie do not get on. The relationship is based on the severity of Gemma’s sneers, ranging from 1, being ‘Ignorant cat’, to 6, being ‘enemy of cat kind’. Needless to say, Freddie gets a lot of sneers in the 5 and 6 range.

Freddie, though, is very passive, as you would expect from a Buddhist. He seeks to find common ground and treat everyone, even Gemma, with respect and kindness, helping where he can to ease her suffering and pain.

Now, if you hadn’t surmised already, I need to mention that Freddie is an educated cat who likes to read books and experience life. So much so that he goes into his garden and befriends the resident crow family, and Rufus, the local squirrel. They introduce him to Holly, the hamster who’s cage sits inside on the next door window ledge. 

Very soon, with the help of his new pals, he is off in pursuit of educating himself in the fine arts and philosophers of the human world. But true to his beliefs, he is helping his new friends fulfil their own academic, sightseeing and high-flying goals. And how does he do this, you may ask? Answer: By entering and borrowing from the next door library, of course! The antics and chaos that ensue are hilarious and priceless. All of which is unseen by his human companions, but not so their neighbour, Penny, who tries to film it all on her phone.

So, what did we think?

From a rather unassuming fun cover comes what I think is a small gem. Told in first person as a series of Freddie’s diary entries, this book will impart to the careful reader far more than at face value. It is a masterpiece of observation and insight into not only felines but humans too. More than this, an entertaining storyline sets this apart from far more mundane fictional works on feline and human relationships. 

For me, this is what truly makes this a stand out tale and a tour de force of entertainment and insight. Actions have consequences, even more so when species mix. And here they unfold so well and funnily that it was impossible not to turn the page and laugh and giggle aloud.

A must-read for anyone seeking a more educated, tongue in cheek fun, and thought-provoking read. I’ll be delving more into the author’s other works (both fact and fiction), as the writing style is very appealing.

I also find that I want to know more about Freddie’s adventures. Whether we get to know more or not, I don’t know. But I bought the paperback and will re-read it periodically to remind myself of the balance of life and all such good things. And yes, we will also laugh unashamedly at what happened to Angela in the library, and to that poor, poor dog of Penny’s!

****** HOT OFF THE PRESS! ******

 Julian has told me there WILL be a sequel!!! Get this one now and be ready for when the sequel arrives.

So . . . . 

Crunch time. 

We thoroughly recommend this book. And you don’t have to have a cat companion or be a budding Buddhist to like this story. Nor be a philosopher or connoisseur of, ahem, ‘fine art’ to appreciate the insight and humour woven carefully into the pages. 

Want to buy a copy?

To get copy, please do head down your own karma filled path to enightment and spread the love at your local independent bookshop.

JULIAN WORKER’s web page can be found HERE. https://julianworkerwriter.blog/

MIRADOR Publishing’s web page can be found HERE. https://miradorpublishing.com/

If any authors, publishers wish us to review their books, please do get in touch. Details are listed on our book review page.

And now a picture of ME!

Till later!

ERin