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The Cat Who Could Read Backwards (Paperback)

by Lilian Jackson Braun (Author) "Jim Qwilleran, whose name had confounded typesetters and proofreaders for two decades, arrived fifteen minutes early for his appointment with the managing editor of the..." (more)

4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (50 customer reviews)

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Product Details

Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Berkley Pub Group (August 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0425195201
ISBN-13: 978-0425195208
Product Dimensions: 20 x 13 x 1.8 cm
Shipping Weight: 223 g

Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (50 customer reviews)

Amazon.ca Sales Rank: #1,369,554 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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This is item 1 in The Cat Who... Series.

Product Description

From Library Journal

The first book in Braun's beloved "Cat Who" series is being reissued in hardcover after a wait of over 30 years.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

A new hardcover edition (after Dutton's in 1966) of the first in a series that now totals 19 (The Cat Who Tailed a Thief, 1997, etc.). Here, Braun introduces Jim Qwilleran, a prizewinning reporter who's been on the skids but is now coming back with a job as feature writer (mostly on the art scene) for the Daily Fluxion. George Bonifield Mountclemens, the paper's credentialed art critic, writes almost invariably scathing, hurtful reviews of local shows; delivers his pieces by messenger; lives with his all-knowing cat Koko in a lushly furnished house in a moldering neighborhood, and has a raft of enemies all over town. He offers the newcomer a tiny apartment in his building at a nominal rent, and Qwilleran grabs it, surmising the deal will involve lots of cat-sitting. Meanwhile, a gallery whose artists get happier treatment from Mountclemens is owned by Earl Lambreth. The acerbic critic has praised paintings there by a reclusive Italian named Scrano; the junk assemblages of Nino, who calls himself a ``Thingist,'' as well as works by Lambreth's attractive wife Zoe. It's Zoe who, one night past closing, finds her husband stabbed to death in the vandalized gallery. Days later, Qwilleran, guided by an insistent Koko, finds Mountclemens's knifed corpse on the patio behind his house. It takes a while to put the meandering pieces together and to uncover an overriding motive behind the mayhem, but the best things here are Qwilleran's low-keyed charisma and the author's well- aimed, often funny barbs at the pretensions of the contemporary art world--as on-target today as they were some 30 years ago. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Jim Qwilleran, whose name had confounded typesetters and proofreaders for two decades, arrived fifteen minutes early for his appointment with the managing editor of the Daily Fluxion. Read the first page

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Customer Reviews

50 Reviews

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

4.6 out of 5 stars (50 customer reviews)

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4.0 out of 5 stars Not quite there still, April 24 2004

By	Roger Long "longrush" (Port Clinton, OH USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Cat Who Could Read Backwards (Paperback)

The author has the ability, in all her cat mysteries, to meld an interesting set of characters with a realistic if rather non-specific atmosphere. And I don't have a problem with the whimsical aspect of a cat "who" can read (or whatever), although I am somewhat taken aback by the pronoun in the titles, "who" as opposed to "that."

Where this and the other cat books fall a bit short is in the plotting, more specifically in the outcome or denouement. Somehow I feel empty handed as I turn the final page. Without giving away the plot, this was especially true here, in the first of the feline puzzlements. If the cat mysteries just had a better explanation of events and motives, they would be worthy of five stars.

Nonetheless, for pure reading enjoyment the cat books are way, way above most current mysteries that are about as much fun to read as watching a toenail fungus cure commercial on TV.

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4.0 out of 5 stars The first book. . ., Feb 9 2004

By	David Zampino "21st Century Hobbit" (Delavan, Wisconsin) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Cat Who Could Read Backwards (School & Library Binding)

. . .in a charming series of mysteries intended especially for cat lovers.

In this volume, we are introduced to James Qwilleran, formerly a top reporter, but struggling to make his way back, following a divorce and a battle with alcoholism. In his first new assignmet, Qwilleran is assigned to cover the "Art" beat for the "Daily Fluxion" newspaper -- a subject about which he knows absolutely nothing.

We are also introduced to the remarkable Kao Ko Kung -- a remarkable Siamese cat belonging to a local art critic. After a rather bizarre murder, the old reporter in Qwilleran comes to the fore and, with the help of Kao Ko Kung (aka Koko) solves the mystery.

Gastronomes will love this series of books as much as cat lovers, due to the luscious descriptions of food and drink described.

This book is one of the best of the series, and is well worth the time.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Fine 1st entree in long running series for cat/ mystery fans, Jan 25 2004

By	Gerald M. Bull "Jerry Bull" (Fairview, TN United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Cat Who Could Read Backwards (Paperback)

With nearly two dozen novels in "The Cat Who..." series, Braun has obviously struck a chord with mystery and cat lovers. Almost a classic yarn in the ilk of Elliot Queen, there's no sex and no profanity in this nice clean straightforward story of three murders -- a puzzling whodunit. Jim Qwilleran is introduced as the leading man; an accomplished journalist, he takes an "Art Beat" job with a small paper for which he's hardly qualified but makes the best of it. He hears so much about the paper's hated official art critic, one G.B. Mountclemens, that he can't wait to meet him. Ironically, he likes the guy and decides to rent out his lower apartment. His low rent paves the way for quite a bit of cat sitting, and so we meet the brainy Siamese "Koko", who in addition to normal feline fickleness, independence, and fastidiousness, is a bit of a sleuth himself (in addition to reading newspaper headlines!). When the owner fails to return from a trip and winds up murdered, our hero starts sifting for clues along with his reporting chores. Between his twitchy mustache and hints from the cat, the case is solved quite neatly in just a couple of hundred easy to read pages.

Braun has cats of her own, undoubtedly the inspiration for her series, and cat lovers will be amused at the Koko's antics and the spoiled treatment he is accorded. He eats much better than most humans! But the story doesn't just rest on the cat -- Qwillerman is a likable guy who pursues his puzzles doggedly, while he and we learn a little about art and art galleries along the way. His interviewing skills and easygoing manner with people make him a natural at sniffing out the truth. For a few hours of fun relaxation and entertainment, try this tale!

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