Sfar, Joann - The Rabbi's Cat

[oyceter]

I love this. LOVE.

In 1930s Algeria, a rabbi's cat eats a parrot and miraculously gains the power of speech.

Well, it's miraculous to the cat, as much as cats are amazed by things. The rabbi sees it as a miracle and a misfortune, as the first thing the cat does is lie. The cat then claims he is not Jewish, then demands a bar mitzvah. The rabbi, understandably confused, goes to seek his rabbi, and things sort of go on from there.

The cat is so very cat-like:

The rabbi tells me that of course I'm Jewish, since my masters are Jews. I tell him that I'm not circumcised. He tells me that they don't circumcise cats. I tell him that I haven't had a Bar Mitzvah. He tells me that the Bar Mitzvah occurs at thirteen years of age. So I tell him that I am seven years old, and for cats, the years are multiplied by seven; therefore, it's as if I were seven times seven years old, which is definitely more than thirteen. I tell him that if I am a Jewish cat, I want to be bar-mitzvahed.

Some of the charm is lost in the quote because you can't see the accompanying panels, which are scribbly and reddish and almost misshapen, but just enough to perfectly capture the tilt of the cat's head and the slyness in his eyes.

The rest of the book is about ordinary things: will the rabbi pass his dictation test? How will his daughter's marriage turn out? But it is so perfect and funny and charming and true true true, nevermind that it is being narrated by a cat. I love the cat and I love the rabbi and I love his daughter Zlabya. I love how they are selfish and kind and petty and generous; I love the rabbi's nonkosher meal; I love Zlabya's shopping trip; I love the lion; and most of all, I love the cat.

I am only sorry that I didn't buy this before when Mely first blogged about it.

Go read this.

Links:
- coffeeandink's review
- buymeaclue's review

Comments

[oracne.livejournal.com]

Yay you liked this! I got it because of her, too.

[oyceter]

I love it so much! I am so glad I own it so I can reread to my content!

[sparkymonster.livejournal.com]

holy crap. I had no idea there was a way to write a cat as both very cat like and very Jewish. fantastic.

*tries to find it at the library*

[oyceter]

Eee! I hope you find it! It is awesome!

[buymeaclue.livejournal.com]

Oh, this sounds fantastic. Thanks!

[oyceter]

No problem! Always glad to spread the squee ;).

[actoplasm.livejournal.com]

I picked it up at the store one and then we both read it and loved. It's incredible how well the cat works at being one of its species in every way and fitting so well into the story. We hadn't had Lily too long either, so we were seeing a lot in common. I know we saw a lot of icon potential but I don't know if we ever made any.

Wish there were more graphic novels like this. Though they are making "Persepolis" into a movie, and Satrapi is involved.

[oyceter]

I was thinking of you guys and Lily while I was reading this! You can so tell that Sfar has a cat from this comic, even without looking at his bio in the back.

I hadn't realized they were making Persepolis into a movie; that'll be interesting.

[spoggly.livejournal.com]

"But it is so perfect and funny and charming and true true true, nevermind that it is being narrated by a cat...I love how they are selfish and kind and petty and generous...I love Zlabya's shopping trip; I love the lion; and most of all, I love the cat."

That is perfect. Do you mind if I link to this review when I (eventually) do a graphic novel rec. list?

[oyceter]

Not at all, and thank you!