Vendor
Andrew Lownie
Published by
undefined, undefined (2016)
Original language
English
Original title
Able Seacat Simon
Themas
Animal life stories Biographical fiction

BACK

Able Seacat Simon

The Wartime Hero of the High Seas

by Barrett-Lee, Lynne

‘I knew about humans. Sometimes they liked to offer things to you and then, when you plucked up the courage to inch closer, would grab you and take you and put you in a cage. Oh, yes, I knew all about that. I shrank back against sacks piled around me and hissed.

The man laughed and bent down. ‘Don’t be scared, little feller,’ he said. ‘Don’t be frightened.’ And then he reached all the way and just as I tensed, petrified, he smoothed his huge human hand all the way down my back, like the lady in the big house by the jetty used to do.

‘There,’ he said. ‘My, you’re just skin and bone, aren’t you? Shall I see if I can find you something to eat?’

My heart leapt. He meant food. And I was starving, so I wavered. But my mother had warned me. Most humans weren’t like the lady in the big house. I saw my chance. Spied the nearest sack. Made a leap and scrabbled up it. Then ran away just as fast as my legs could carry me.’

1948. The docks of Hong Kong. Where a young orphaned kitten, bereft, scared and alone, is doing his best to survive. It’s a hard, frightening life, and his hunting skills are minimal, so when befriended by a young sailor from one of the ships docked in Victoria Harbour, he eventually trusts him enough to take food from him. But it seems the sailor, who is missing his own cat back in England, is after more than just a temporary friend. He names the kitten Simon, and when his ship, HMS Amethyst, is ready to sail, he decides to smuggle him onboard.

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Weblink:
http://www.andrewlownie.co.uk/authors/lynne-barrett-lee/books/able-seacat-simon-the-wartime-hero-of-the-high-seas

Comments

Katzenworld

"We absolutely loved the book! The author did a brilliant job at combining true events with fiction to create a unique story! "

Reviews: Katzenworld

Book Trust

This incredible true story reads like a fairy tale. Despite dealing with quite technical naval material, Barrett-Lee has made it very accessible by telling it from Simon's point of view. There is also a very helpful glossary of terms at the back. This heart-warming tale will make readers laugh and cry. A must for animal lovers."

Reviews: book trust

Novel Kicks - Review

"To discover a new author is one of the joys still to be found in life, and that is exactly what I’ve just done having finished this new book by the very talented Ms Barrett-Lee… If you’ve seen the film ‘The Yangtse Incident’, then you’ll find this an invaluable companion. I can’t recall having read a book before that was written from the pov of an animal, but if this is the quality of Lynne Barrett-Lee’s writing, she could have a cockroach (no disrespect meant to any cockroachs – alive or dead – reading this review) as the protagonist, and she’d have me sold"
Novel Kicks

Reviews: Novel Kicks