Customer Reviews

Cat Who Could Read Backwards (Curley Large Print Books)

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have been a Lilian Braun fan for so long I've managed to forget most of the stories, which is a perfect excuse to start rereading them. "The Cat Who Could Read Backwards" is the first, written in 1966, starting a series that has run for over thirty years. Unlike most if the series, which takes place in the northern town of Pickaxe. These early books cover Jim Qwilleran's career urban career Down Below, working for the Daily Fluxion. While Qwill had once been a highly respected crime reporter, he had fallen victim to his drinking habits. Now, once again sober, he has accepted a job as art feature writer for the Fluxion, which already has the cities most controversial art critic - George Bonifield Mountclemens (the Third).

Other than the minor drawback of knowing nothing about art, Qwill is anxious to start. He quickly dives into the city's thriving art world, and discovers that all is not roses and harmony. Mountclemens is universally unpopular among most of the artists and galleries and is noted for scathing reviews. Cal Halapay, the first artist interviewed is one of Mountclemens victims, and almost all the artists Qwill meets have endures similar treatment. In addition, the city's artists are fiercely competitive. So it comes as a surprise that the first murder of the novel is not Mountclemens, but Earl Lambreth, the owner of the city's poshest gallery.

Despite Mountclemens' reputation, Qwill finds that he likes him. More important to readers of the series, Mountclemens' cat, Kao K'o-Kung, takes a liking to Qwilleran. Koko, as he become known, is "The Cat Who...", without whom few of Qwill's mysteries would ever get solved. Also introduced in this volume are many of the wonderful characters that go one to people many of Lilian Braun's efforts. Especially Archer Riker, the Fluxion's feature editor and Odd Bunsen the erratic, outspoken newspaper photographer.

Lilian Braun's novels are of the more or less non-violent, puzzle-oriented genre often labeled 'cozies.' They make up for the lack of a tense, driving plot by emphasizing charming, irascible characters, and a somewhat tongue-in-cheek attitude. Braun is extremely successful at this. Sometimes the reader will feel that the murder is more of a subplot rather than the primary them of the novel. Fans are comfortable with this, but the newcomer needs to be prepared for these endearing, but picaresque tales.

My wife is a great lover of mystery books and she has been hounding me for a long time to read some of the books in the "Cat Who" series. I finally gave in and found that I enjoyed this first book of the series very much. Unlike many mystery novels this book is light reading with no sex, violence or profanity and the plot is not so laden with details that the reader gets bogged down with them. The plot is in fact just a little too light in some instances but I was so enthralled with the characters that I hardly noticed.

The best thing about this book is the author's engaging style of writing. Even without the kind of plot that draws the reader completely into the story the writing style makes this book hard to put down. Furthermore, the characters are so fun and realistic that the reader will quickly become attached to them, which is a trait quite necessary for a long running series like this one.

The primary human character is Jim Qwilleran, a top-notch investigative reporter who has apparently spent years in the newspaper business but because of his problems with alcohol has run out of job options. Having cleaned up his act he finds himself with a job offer from the Daily Fluxion but to his dismay finds that he will be covering the art scene for the features department. Soon he finds himself immersed in the art community, which is full of some very odd characters that don't like each other at all. Most importantly he meets his own paper's art critic whom almost nobody likes, including the bartender at the press club. It seems that the only being that likes the critic is his cat Kao K'o-Kung who also takes up with Qwilleran. Kao K'o-Kung or Koko for short is the cat of which the title speaks and he is an amazing cat indeed. The author has obviously spent a lot of time with cats for her description of their mannerisms is impeccable.

Soon there is a murder in the art world and it is not who the reader will expect to be murdered. Qwilleran is on the story in a flash but is often wandering along the wrong track until Koko lends his help. After the case is solved one of the reporter's buddies asks him how it feels to play Dr. Watson to a cat and that is just how things seem to play out. The clues are there but neither Qwilleran nor I picked up on them until Koko basically waves them in our collective faces.

The ending was just a little of a let down but the but the basic fun nature of the story and the extraordinarily entertaining characters more than make up for it. This book was just simply a delight to read and I intend to follow the exploits of Qwilleran and Koko into several more books.

I stumbled upon the "Cat Who" series of books when I picked up a very yellowed copy of "The Cat Who Could Read Backwards" from a book-sharing box at work. I found the book (and all it's subsequent mysteries) delightful, devouring one each every evening after work. They're easy reads and safe for adolescents as they're not filled with gore, sex or profanity.

As a cat-lover and multiple-cat-owner, I found Mr. Q's and Koko's adventures especially entertaining. I don't know how many whiskers my cats have (they never sit long enough to let me count them) but I'll accept that Koko is a remarkable cat!

After reading this first book in the series I was hooked! I read every subsequent "Cat Who" mystery in order and am eagerly awaiting the release of the newest one next month. Though one can certainly read these books out of order, I think it's easier to remember who the characters are as they reappear in subsequent books in the series. I enjoyed following along, episode by episode, to see how things unfold.

Turns out this first book was originally published in the sixties. I found a lot of the references to now-extinct items and practices charming. I remember clackity typewriters and people smoking at their desks at work back then. This book reflects the times, as Mr. Q unabashidly loves to look at pretty ladies and admires the dimples in their knees (how very un-PC)!

I've noticed that the photo of Ms. Braun on the back cover of recently published editions in the series is the same as that on my 1960's copy. Either Ms. Braun is nearly 100 now and actively writing, or someone has picked up the reins as ghost-writer. If so, it's been done seamlessly and the new stories have the same style as the old except there are now cell phones and computers while Mr. Q and Koko haven't aged a bit in 35 years!

The handsome, rich and famous newspaper writer with his very characteristic walrus-like mustache winds up in his very first homoicide-related adventure and meets his charming four-legged sidekick as well in this first book. Such a wonderful, richly-detailed story that describes just about everything ever to happen to Mr. Qwilleran with a very sharp eye for architecture styles and interior design as well as a truly refined taste for recipes and cooking. Cat lovers will also relish in such amusing and sometimes amazing antics of Koko, the all-knowing Siamese cat and Yum Yum, his female counteract who will be appearing in the later books. In addition, a good deal of flightful fantasy is so deftly woven into Qwill's rich, adventure-filled life as he and his beloved cats move from one truly beautiful and exciting place to another, taking along with him his most cherished longtime friends and meeting new faces as well while many of the characters he came to know eventually got killed off in each succeeding books. A truly glamourous ride for everyone who enjoys curling up with a good mystery and a warm, purring pussycat!

This is the first of a series of 25 The Cat Who murder mysteries. Published in 1966, it was also one of professional newspaper woman's Lilian Braun's first attempts into the world of the novel.
I read several of her later works first, so it was odd, for me, to read her first work, in which the conversations and situations were more forced and the story line a little more convoluted. It was also fun, because, in spite of the less practiced writing techniques, it was still a great story with wonderful characters.
The book opens with an introduction to Jim Qwilleran, who is a full and complex character right from the start. He is a recovering alcoholic who isn't maudlin about it, a veteran newsman who needs to recover his once prize-winning reputation, a middleaged bachelor with an ex-wife across the country and a hopeful interest in possible girlfriends. He takes a job he doesn't want because he needs to pay bills. The job is covering the art beat for the newspaper, instead of the crime beat he covets.... and, fortunately, for him, the murders just happen to occur on the art beat for the rest of this story. By the end he has adopted the very interesting Saimese, Koko, who will, with Qwill, star in the next 24 The Cat Who mysteries....
These fun stories are greatly entertaining without insulting your intelligence. Kind of like the great anti-television.

Jim Qwilleran has just been hired as an art writer for the Daily Fluxion, a position he's unqualified for and reluctant to take. His first assignment is to interview Cal Halapay, a successful commercial artist who has no interest in answering any of Jim's questions. The only time Cal reacts is when he voices his contempt for George Bonifield Mountclemens III, the art critic for the same newspaper Jim works for. As Jim continues learning about art and befriending artists and gallery owners, he discovers Cal isn't the only one who hates George; several other people (mostly artists) consider the heartless critic better off dead. Yet when Jim meets the man, he's charmed by George's sophistication--not to mention his characteristic Siamese cat, Kao K'o-Kung (aka Koko)--and agrees to rent the bottom apartment to George's Victorian home. However, the art recluse harbors one too many secrets, ones that will lead to murder, including his own. With the help of Koko, Jim tries to uncover the link between George's death and the two other murders in the art community.

Although this is a pretty good book, I was a little disappointed that Koko didn't show up earlier. I suppose since this is the first book in The Cat Who... series, the author didn't want to rush character introductions, but I hope Koko's more in the spotlight in the following books. Still, this is a great series for animal and mystery lovers.

I started reading "The Cat Who..." series in the wrong order and had to go back to the beginning with this one. I think I'm up to the tenth now. These books are more about story and characters than about shocking you from your seat or scaring you into keeping your lights on all night like some mysteries. You can actually picture the characters in the various books, and Ms. Braun captures the feline essense perfectly. Koko may be smarter than the average human, but he's all cat. This book is the best place to start for this relaxing, enjoyable series.

Having listen to the Cat who Sang for the Birds, I followed him to Breakfast. We then Tailed a Thief, Blew the Whistle and Climbed a Mountain before Reading Backwards.

It seems strange now to read about Mr Q Down Below. I'd got used to all his friends in Pickax and he seemed kind of lonely with only Arch for company. The Cat Who Could Read Backwards gives more colour to the characters of both Qwilleran and Koko, and goes some way to explain the special powers of a remarkable feline.

Read this one first. Its a treat, but then again, so are all the others!

The Cat Who is the best serries ever full of humor wit and complexity,
James Macentosh Qwilerin is a off beat repoter with no where to go and no money to spend.
This is the best book serries I have ever read and would recomend it to any one over 10.
Trevor Oliver
12 Years old

These are light and frivolous murder mysteries. This is the first (so 1966) of the series but the publisher often refuses to identify it thus (their first listed "...Who Saw Red" is actually the 4th). The stories don't "amount to anything," but once started I can't put one down. The characters are what's so much fun. Qwilleran, a failed crime journalist and shamus manqué, is a pleasant, empathetic, inquisitive, suave, enviable sort of guy. Braun writes to a very pleasant formula that I find still enjoyable, even after realizing that each story features a different career field on which Qwill is newly assigned to report (without involving us in boring exegesis of that subject), a murdered careerist, a tool of that trade that is the murder weapon, and amusingly quirky, yet sunny, suspects one of whom will attract Qwill romantically. Then "his" Siamese cat Koko will eventually do something cat-like that will point to a vital clue (alluded to in the book's title) once Qwill, a mere human, recognizes the boon. The plot mostly consists of an entertaining string of interviews of the suspects, neighbors all, wherein one finds occasional clues, interrupted by elegant feedings of Qwill's cats (or else!). Braun provides clues to her mysteries, but you don't have to pay attention if you don't want to. These are just amazingly appealing stories, the touch of a masterful author.