Customer Reviews

The Cat's Pajamas: and Other Stories

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4 star:		(1)
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After an agonizing abscence from the bookshelves James Morrow returns in force with a second collection of short stories. With both previously unprinted, hard to find and uncollected stories Jim has put together a fantastic collection of stories that can find any audience.

From his short plays to his fantastic imaginative narratives to his well disguised social commentaries and unyeilding satire this collection is a very worthy addition that will contribute to the cult legend of James Morrow.

the collection is a welcome sight to any Morrow hardcore fan that has been anxiously awaiting a new full length novel from him, and something in which the book jacket teases us and tempts our palette with the bombshell news that he has TWO novels waiting in the wings!

Until then, there's The Cat's Pajama's and other stories to abide our time.

Jim Morrow is one of the few writers consistently writing effective satire in science fiction and fantasy. Fans of his novels will be delighted by this collection of his short work. If anything Morrow's grand conceits play better at shorter length: Alien races battling over philosophical differences; Columbus landing in a newer world than the one he discovered; sports fans who control the fate of nations. Morrow's work is not for the humorless or the unimaginative. He is science fiction's Swift; as a writer he is Gulliver among Lilliputians.

Everything about the Cat's Pajamas by James Morrow is first rate, from the teriffic stories to the exceptional cover art to the maroon and gold binding. I particularly enjoyed Morrow's sendup of shlocky horror movies shown late at night on weekend television, "Come Back, Dr. Sarcophagus" (an original to this collection). Fun fun fun.

I loved Morrow's Only Begotten Daughter, so I picked up this collection. Now, it's clear to me that Morrow is a gifted writer at any length. If you love satire with a bite, you'll love this book.

James Morrow is a gifted, funny writer, and this is immediately apparent in this collection's first short story, "The War of the Worldviews." But that lead-off story is SO good, this collection suffers from the same syndrome as a pop CD that's front-loaded with its best single: There's nowhere to go but down.

Don't get me wrong, most of the pieces in THE CAT'S PAJAMAS are eminently readable. But they are perhaps not Morrow's finest work. To continue the analogy, there is a feeling that some of this work are B-sides. I can't remember the last time I read a short story collection with three plays, for examples. Rather, they come across as a bit rough, a trifle obvious, particularly in "Auspicious Eggs" and "****ing Justice." (Hey, I see they spelled that title out in the editorial summary above!)

So, while this book is recommended and not just for completists, it is not the place to for readers new to this extraordinary writer to begin.

Also recommended: The Last Witchfinder: A Novel (P.S.)

I have to agree with the reviewer who noticed this book's political slant. However, I'd like to mention something else about it. I got the impression that Morrow doesn't often venture far from the New York/Pennsylvania area, not only from the narrow viewpoints he expresses, but also because of some glaring geographical errors.

In "Isabella of Castille", Columbus sails his caravels from Manhattan to Hispaniola in a mere 6 days.

Even worse, in "Auspicious Eggs", a rant against the Catholic church, our protagonist priest lives on Boston Isle, created when global warming melted the polar ice caps. Yet he attended seminary on the Isle of Denver. Hmm. Boston Isle must be a pretty damp place. (This story also contains what appears to be some unintentional, given its tone, satire; when our heroes escape Boston looking for freedom from oppression, they cannot find any in the segmented communities of America; instead they set sail for that hotbed of freedom, Europe.)

Excusing these kinds of errors as "part of the satire" gives the author a pass to publish sloppy work.