Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats (1939)

My daughter loves the musical so much I purchased the DVD when she was three years old. She often requested that I read from the book at bedtime.

As she grows up, the book holds special memories as does the musical.

Combining the musical and the book is a great way to give children an appreciation of poetry and theater. ( )

I needed something short and light, so grabbed this which has been on my TBR list forever. It was fun and amusing, but I cringed a lot at the casual Orientalism/racism in some of the poems. I know it was written in the 1930s, but I nearly threw the book away when I came across the word "Chink." ( )

So, confession: I’ve read this one before, but not recently. I have fond memories of it being delightfully silly and bouncy (and somehow … longer?). It certainly is fun and has excellent rhyme and meter and all those proper poetic traits. It’s also very much a love letter to cats—from the ones who sleep all day and are terrible mousers to the neighbourhood tom who beats up dogs to the ones who are happy to steal your steak off the counter and then deny it while licking off their paws. However, reading it as an adult there are … um. Let’s just say it’s pretty clear this was written in the early parts of the 20th century and that Pekinese dogs and Siamese cats aren’t portrayed positively. Despite that, I enjoyed the spirit of the poems, if not always the content, and admire Eliot’s grasp on technique. Would recommend to cat lovers still, but with reservations.

7/10 ( )

This was a fun listen. Narrated alternately by Sir John Gielgud and Irene Worth, poems lend themselves to being listened to. These are already partly familiar, as this colleciton is the inspiraiton got CATS, the musical. In some cases lines are lifted directly from the poems into the songs, in others it is a less direct link. Cats have that elusiveness about them that you never know what they are thinking, and that feeds into this collection. the idea of a cat being a criminal mastermind or a magician seems a lot more convincing than some other animals. A fun listen, with some familiar and less familiar elements. ( )

A sweet little book. TS Eliot is known for dramatic powerful writing, but this is charming and whimsical. It provides a new layer of depth to the stage musical, and encourages you to take the show (or film) less literally.

Cats do a lot of weird things. Alley cats gather and yowl together, house cats sleep all day but then run around with so much eagerness. They sit and meditate for hours at a time, they stare out the window like they're deep in thought. What are they thinking about? What are they doing when I'm gone? What do the cats do when they get together?

In terms of cultural role, the significance of the cat is in mystery. It's an elusive being that can't really be explained. Eliot uses this to tell interesting stories of strange and alien societies within cats, using behavior that any cat owner would recognize as evidence for why they feel the way they do. It's fun, although not as inspiring to a writer as most of Eliot's work.

A relatively uneven poetic collection, with just a touch of racism, you can tell this was never something deeply close to Eliot's heart. But it's got a fun energy and I'm here for it.

Cats (2019) Soundtrack > This Book > Cats (2019 Film)

A lot of the poems work better as songs (hearing Skimbleshanks without the booming chorus is so off-putting), so a bit of the magic was gone from the writing, because they are so clearly designed to sound musical. It's not a bad thing to cut out the creepy CGI from the movie, but listening to the songs on the soundtrack is probably the best way to experience it. ( )