Wild Cat

Hello Gentle Reader

Well Gentle Reader, the technical difficulties are no more. The problem has been solved. However, as one will notice with this blog in particular, that it mentions a seasonal change; and I do apologize for the lapse in temporal, in that it is being posted later than it was originally planned. Either way Gentle Reader it is good to be back; and it is nice to have the technical problems all figured out, and working again.

[ I ]

Closed on Account of Nostalgia

Reading is an intense love affair that only bibliophiles and the most avid of readers, will understand. Sometimes after reading there is a need for an almost post-coital cigarette. Jacques Poulin’s novel “Wild Cat,” required just that. After reading a hundred pages, nonchalantly over the course of a few nights, the last seventy-eight pages were devoured in frenzied, manic enjoyment. When the book ended there was a bitter sweet and melancholic realization that: this affair between book and reader had come to a startling – if a bit; expected end. While enjoying my ritual cigarette, there was a sneaky suspicion that the book realizing then, the end of the affair, would quietly slip out of my home and into the warm humid August night. The scent of backyard fires stinging the nose; would be a constant reminder of our time together. Their eyes would glaze over with nostalgia, come future Augusts, and they would be reminded of that blazing night that outshone the moon, and yet was quiet and all that more tender. Nostalgia however is always tinged with melancholy. Our affair based around a shared passion for words, the literary, and the enjoyment of the quiet beauty in its most sublime; could never have held the weight of a long lasting and committed relationship. Where this affair (that’s what it was), was an intense forest fire – it lacked the necessary winds to stoke the coals. It had to end like a, August day: hot and oppressive, which eventually cooled with the onslaught of night.

Autumn is around the corner. Soon the north wind will blow. The leaves will no longer sway as they have with the south wind. They will shiver and change colour, and eventually fall. Autumn brings a sense of trepidation with it. Autumn is the red carpet, before the arrival of winter. Winter is on the horizon. Jack Frost will have already made his rounds to crisp up the ground, and freeze the windows. Yet autumn is my favourite season. With its: long evenings and nights, inviting bonfires; and vibrant colours always around the bend.

[ II ]

“Wild Cat,” by the Quebec author Jacques Poulin, is a novel that toes the line of sentimentality and melodramatic, very often. However, it often catches itself just before crossing, and retreats back into self-restraint. The novel is about Jack, a professional ‘public writer,’ who writes letters, and documents for a living. His life is quiet, and there is nothing special about it. People come to him, to compose letters, and he provides that service to them. Whether it is helping create a lexicon of translated sports words into French; or consultation on helping to write a speech; or the personal and intimate love letter; Jack is your mine. His apartment is shared with his friend and ‘lover,’ Kim a psychologist and psychotherapist; who generally, works nights, so her patients to come see her; and generally up the fire escape as to not wake Jake on the level below. That is the amount of detail one is to expect from Poulin. His writing is restrained, to the point that details or unnecessary or complicated information becomes obsolete; as it would be considered pointless and meaningless data.

Reading Poulin, is reading a novel that has been compressed to the point, that the characters act as if being observed. Personal histories and back stories become rarities. There are few flashbacks, and when there are, they are snapshots. It would appear that Poulin’s characters have a, certain distrust for nostalgia and dwelling on the past. They live in the here and the now; and cannot be bothered to open up about their prior experiences. Yet there is not a sense that they are cold or distant characters; they are warm and receptive. Jack for example is timid, and passive in character. Yet with their lacking back stories at times, it becomes difficult to understand the characters relationships with each other. There is at times a miscommunication between the book and the reader, of how the characters interact. There is no neat organized explanation of the characters relationship. In fact the characters relationships are at best superficial. Yet the writing is calm and meditative. It’s constantly deliberating in its next move. One that happens without action or surprise. It happens in the most mundane ways possible. “Wild Cat,” is a novel without a traditional story. The storyline of Macha and the mysterious Old Man, who Jack takes a interest in, loosely define the book; but there is something to the book then just that.

In a sense reading “Wild Cat,” often came down to Jack’s experiences. His own pathetic (his words) attempts at being a detective; and shadowing the Old Man, trying to find out details of this mysterious gentlemen, who had come to ask for Jack’s assistance on writing a letter. A love letter nonetheless, that is to be sent to his absent wife. The rest of the novel is made up of everyday observations and details. Pretty Cat, for example makes continually appearances. Often lounging in the ‘cat tree,’ or devouring kibble, and cleaning off the plates of Kim and Jack. Pretty Cat, much like Mister Blue from Poulin’s other novel “Mister Blue,” is more a part of the scenery, then the citadel of Quebec. The cats of Poulin’s novels, are treated with compassion and fondness, but are observed, just as if one were observing the passing seasons.

Yet it is Poulin’s observations by his fictional characters, that I enjoy the most. The mundane is soon rendered to the mystical:

“The night was just beginning. Between the illuminated towers of the big hotels west of the parliament and the green and yellow diadem crowning the Chateau Frontenac along the St. Lawrence, there was evidence of night life in the lit up windows, the car headlights pouring onto the streets, and the moonlight shimmering on the tin roofs. Kim had told me one day that in Manichean belief, the moon was considered to be a ship that had the mission of once a month taking on board the final spark of life of those who were about to die and transporting it to the sun, thereby preventing it from being lost forever.”

If you are looking for an easy yet literary read: Poulin is the author that can deliver. However, do not expect the book to end neatly with every loose end quickly tied up. “Wild Cat,” is a short book, which amounts to one hundred and seventy eight pages long. It holds literary merit, and aesthetic value, with its minimalist cover of: royal blue and a small window of golden light with a precarious cat sitting, regal and reticent staring off in the distance. Despite its length, and the sparsity of its prose, it is a novel that plays its cards close to its chest; and does not completely reveal its mysteries. The novel itself is simply written – in a style that is Hemmingway-esque, yet it is far more gentle then Hemmingway’s prose. It appears more sincere; and less journalistic. The novel itself is filled with the ruminations, and meditations of the main character Jack. A lot is left unsaid in the novel, and this can be frustrating. But redemption comes with patience, and I suspect re-reading. For the novel is filled with beautiful descriptions and poignant observations. It deals with love in a manner that comes close to sentimentality; yet distances itself just as quick. The mundane observations and the eccentricities of the landscape and its characters, make the novel come alive such as: The Watchman, and the waitress Maria. The novel stands and supports itself on its subtle writing, its rooted sense of place, and its deliberating observations. There’s a feeling that in a Poulin novel that anything can be considered possible. Just be aware that, the behavior and connecting the dots of the characters interactions and motives, can be difficult to pin point and come to understand.

Thank-you For Reading Gentle Reader
Take Care
And As Always
Stay Well Read
*And Remember: Downloading Books Illegally is Thievery and Wrong.*

M. Mary