Customer Reviews

King of Cats

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

King of Cats is a collection of five interlinked novellas set mainly in New York telling not in chronological order the story of English rock guitarist James Lyons, as well as those with whom he comes into contact. It not surprisingly includes drink and drug abuse, and (mainly gay) sex, but only in so much as these are a part of the lives of the characters; it is primarily a story about relationships and self-discovery and loss.
In the first story of the title, set in 2002, Jimmy hardly figures; but this is where we first meet a friend or lover of his, Elliott, slight in stature, beguilingly boyish, garrulous and rather impish, when he introduces himself to the surly Samson Clark, a part time film editor and wannabe film director. They meet in the Metropolitan Museum as they both sit mesmerised before a painting entitled King of Cats, an apparition of the tantalising Jimmy. Peter is at first indifferent to Elliott's advances, but then has second thoughts and so begins to seek him out, which proves to be more difficult than he expected. With whatever relationship that finally develops he discovers that Elliott is not at all what he claims. It is during his search for Elliott that Jimmy Lyons is first alluded to and whom Sam briefly meets.
In part two, The Bargain, we go back a year to 2001, and Jimmy takes centre stage, then a member of the band The Mogs. We learn of his first encounter with promiscuous Elliott and how they live together for a time and enjoy an ongoing sexual relationship. Jimmy also has becomes involved with Lisa DeBenedetto of the record company that eventually signs The Mogs. He subsequently moves in with Lisa and escapes the immediate clutches of Elliott.
Part three, 1995, Kissing the Gunners Daughter explains Jimmy's meeting with wealthy student Adam and his invitation to join the band. In addition to Jimmy's musical prowess, Adam is also attracted to him physically and succeeds in seducing him on their first meeting. While Jimmy is finally accepted into the band, the fact that Adam is a bit of spoilt brat who likes to have his own way hinders their relationship.
In part four, My Father's House, 2003, the band achieves success, and while on tour the relationship between Jimmy and Adam takes an interesting turn, however on return to New York Elliott is still very much in evidence and has a big impact on Jimmy and Adam, but sudden tragedy has a big impact on their lives.
In the final part, Hidden History, we go back to 1987 and Wembley, London, and learn about Jimmy's childhood. The sexual abuse by Eamonn his older cousin, the severe physical abuse at the hands of his father and his experiences in a local band of older musicians go a long way to explaining Jimmy's character.
The many diverse characters are well developed, especially the three main characters. Lively, manipulative, seemingly helpless and clinging Elliott certainly has his charm. Bullish Adam as he matures has his redeeming features. The truculent, shy, reserved and strikingly good looking Jimmy, his complex character fully explained by his experiences, is irresistible despite his faults.
The story is well written and makes for an effortless read. The explicit sex is well handled, not unnecessarily dwelt upon, and is always in the context of the developing story. I found this an engrossing book peopled with likeable characters despite their human failings. I enjoyed the first part, and it got even better as the story unfolded. A very moving tale, that at various times is tantalising, titillating, heartbreaking, but always captivating.

If you're looking for a heart and flowers gay romance, you're barking up the wrong tree with "The King of Cats." If you want a well written, disquieting, ugly, beautiful life story, then Jimmy Strange is your man. Only, it won't be easy to get to know him. It will be a painful struggle, much like his life. He's charming, he's gifted, he's elusive. All part of the author's devious plan to unravel a life.

The structure of this novel is very unique, and can be difficult to adapt to at first. Five novellas is a trifle misleading. Each is a chapter in the life of Jimmy Strange, but they are not chronological, nor are they always directly about him. Often, we learn more about a person through the people they know and Fraina makes good use of this. The first novella takes place in 2002, where we meet a not very likeable British chap who starts a liaison with a young man named Elliott. Elliott is not all he appears to be and I quickly felt like I had fallen down the rabbit hole. To top it off, Jimmy doesn't even appear until the last couple of paragraphs. But, what we learn about Elliot is integral to understanding Jimmy. Each novella does the same in a different way; introducing first Elliot, then Lisa, then Adam, in a weaving path to get to Jimmy. It begins in 2002, jumps to back to 2001, then further back to 1995 before ending in the "present" of 2003. But, we are not left there. The last novella gives readers what most biographies give us in the beginning - the beginning. In 1987, we finally learn the uncomfortable story of Jimmy's childhood and how it shaped him. And, the impact will leave readers stunned. Sure, this book could have been put in chronological order, but that is not how we meet people in real life. We learn about them from themselves, we learn about them from others, and rarely in sequence. So, the style is ideal and implemented flawlessly.

There is sex in the story. How could there not be? Sex, drugs and Rock n' Roll. Jimmy is a musician and he has the stereotypical musician's life, at least on the surface. But, the sex is not gratuitous. It has an influence on this story, on this life, and it is often not the least bit erotic. It can be hot, but more often leaves the reader feeling unsettled. As happens to people who aren't certain about the sexual choices they've made, like Jimmy.

The writing in the book deserves five stars, hands down. It was obviously edited with care, and the writing was smooth. I continued to think about the book long after I finished the last page. But I gave it four stars for a reason, albeit a personal one. Jimmy Strange's life is almost too real. This is not a feel good book. There is no happily ever after, there is only living. So, while the book was incredibly engaging and undeniably genuine, I was not satisfied at the end. I was left sad, because this life may very well exist for someone out there, and I want them, wanted Jimmy, to be happy. I highly recommend "The King of Cats" to those looking for a thought-provoking, sometimes harsh, sometimes disjointed, but always honest look at life. I'm glad I read it. But, those that need a happily every after will be quickly disillusioned.

King of Cats: A Life in Five Novellas
by Blake Fraina

An interesting, well-written story told through five different stories, each set in a different period of life of the musician Jimmy "Strange" Lyons. The basic question Fraina asks is, what makes anyone interesting. Is it what is revealed, or what is hidden? In truth, both add to the complexity of the human being so one without the other would be like a turtle without a shell. What we reveal shelters us from what we would prefer to hide.

I wasn't sure if I would get into this tale (I'm not big on rock n'roll stories), but this one grabbed me. Fraina has a very easy style. It sweeps the reader along at a good pace. The dialogue is used sparingly; only when needed. Otherwise, it's as if we are watching the characters like subjects. Which goes well because we are first introduced to Jimmy in the first novella through the discussion of a two-dimensional painting.

I can see this book gathering a cult following if it got enough attention. It's a bit off-putting at parts (the characters seem to switch from like-able to hateful to absolute pricks in the course of a few pages, and then back again), but that makes perfect sense in this instance. These are damaged folk, and damaged folk can fall to pieces at any momnt. One can only understand the subject in front of them if they study the trail behind.

Don't let the structure of this story, in "five novellas," affect your judgment before you pick up this excellent book.

The five interconnected stories center on Jimmy Lyons, an English rock guitarist. A la Tarentino, these stories are out of chronological order on purpose. The sequence ties the stories together with their organic emotional progression.

Based on the idea that "our secrets define us," this story of relationships and self-discovery starts with others peripheral to Jimmy. Subsequent sections reveal when Jimmy joins a band, the Bogs, is bedded by band leader Adam, then finds musical success with the group.

The last section is the most disturbing and perhaps the most revealing, as it covers the rough terrain of Jimmy's childhood.

The author, Blake Fraina, has crafted a tale of of what drives attraction and the back-and-forth of power in a relationship. It's a gem that deserves a larger audience, and I suspect the name Blake Fraina will loom much larger in the future.

In this incredibly refreshing and thought-provoking début novel, Blake Fraina delves into the quintessential nature of human attraction, and the primordial struggle for dominance within a relationship.

'King of Cats' is described as a 'life in five novellas'. It concerns the interweaving relationships between two members of a New York rock group (Jim and Adam) and their younger sometime-roadie, Elliott. Jim is the embodiment of that elusive quality, 'allure'. Exquisitely handsome, enigmatically sultry, desired by all; he is alternately brutish and tender - but behind the façade he struggles to deal with the events of his childhood. Adam is a long-time fellow band member, a product of rich yet bland and disinterested parents. Elliott is...a mystery. Pitiful, childlike, manipulative, violent and passionate - like a mistreated stray dog, you can never predict his response.

The fluidity of Blake Fraina's prose combined with an 'advance then retreat' style of slow revelation succeeds in creating a captivating work of fiction that is at times startling, tense, erotic, frustrating and, above all, true-to-life. What is lurking in Jim's childhood? What is the inexplicable bond that intermittently draws Jim and Elliott together and pushes them apart? What does Adam seek from each of Jim and Elliott? The intrigue surrounding each character exemplifies one of the major themes of this very human novel: what is it the attracts one person to another - the other person's actual character, or just what they superficially appear to be? Is following the seductiveness of the unknown a means or an end in itself? What happens when that attraction is requited - 'all's well that ends well', or just the beginning of an intense struggle for dominance and the enactment of self-destructive desires? Must it turn out this way, or can people take control over their unconscious desires?

The underlying themes of 'King of Cats' are universal, rising above issues of sexuality, environment or contemporary society. Accordingly, do not expect any fairytale resolution to the characters' lives (though when you get to the end, and are desperate to know more, check out the author's website for some 'deleted scenes'). The questions evoked by this work will stay with you for a long time - just be prepared to re-examine your own motivations. With this début novel, Blake Fraina has created a timeless piece (and, incidentally, a natural candidate for a film adaptation - Gregg Araki??) and is certainly a name to watch....

Blake Fraina joins a list of authors I would read anytime, keeping company with Charles de Lint, Patricia A. McKillip, et al. Fraina writes in the style of an updated urban fairytale - stitching myth and reality into the lives of real people.

Fraina carefully weaves a purposeful rearrangement of time and place to slowly unfold his musician, Jimmy, whose life is a sum of all of its experiences. All of the characters in KING OF CATS strongly step from the pages - each with his/her own crisp personality and more specifically, their own needs and history.

As when I read Charles de Lint's DREAMS UNDERFOOT, I avoided reaching the end of the book, not wanting to leave the characters behind. I fell in love with Jimmy, Adam, Amy ... and hope to see their futures and pasts appear again in Fraina's writing.

"King of Cats" is a masterful piece of writing. It is divided into five novellas, each parcel a slice of the life of rock-musician Jimmy Lyons. The novellas are not presented chronologically and therein lies the genius of Blake Fraina's diverting design - each segment augments the preceding segment, fitting together like pieces of an intricate puzzle. The author has stated that the novellas are self-contained stories that may be read in any order the reader chooses, but the order they are presented works best as the enigmas in earlier segments are deftly revealed in later ones. The characters are well developed, the descriptions vivid, and the dialog is authentic. At first American readers may think there are typos and unusual word choices, but Fraina has chosen to have the narrator's voice reflect the British vernacular to blend with the viewpoints of the two British characters. I've read many a good book that was still a chore to get through. Not so with "King of Cats." It's a quick, captivating read, and all five stories, each unique and different, demonstrate how a life can evolve yet is never quite free from the ties of its past.

This is no beach book - it a well written book that pulls your emotions in many different directions. I am really dazzled by the skill with which Blake Fraina weaves this novel and it's characters. You will feel the pain of all the characters, yet retain sympathy for them as well. This is a stand out book that should not be missed.

What makes a person more fascinating? For me, it was the real truth hidden behind each of the characters. What one person perceived as opposed to what the other was really thinking,& feeling.

For me it was what was hiding, lurking and tormenting one of the main characters..Jimmy Strange or Jimmy Lyons. An emotionally, sexually & physically abused young man whose beautiful face left men and women desiring him and his body. What people perceived as brooding, sexy, cool was hiding his gayness,his torment,his self-doubt,his anger, his shyness, his scars. They loved his 'look' and he thought they loved him. He didn't know how beautiful he was until he discovered he could use it as a weapon.
Eamonn, his cousin, was obsessed with Jimmy's body.
Adam was a man who was given everything money could buy except love from his father. He was obsessed with Jimmy.
Elliott an enigmatic man/child who was a manipulative sub. Got whatever his wanted. He got and wanted Jimmy.
Cass, Amey, Lisa all were mesmerized by Jimmy's looks and his perceived sensitivity. They all 'wanted' Jimmy. He wanted their love.
Sometimes it felt like they hated Jimmy for creating the lust and desire for him that no on could quench!
The relentless story of the love/hate relationships that became Jimmy's life. Each chapter captured the feelings of this closeted beautiful gay man, looking for love...always looking and hoping for a true love.
A wonderful novel of subtle eroticsm, sensual desires, gripping lust,angry love, sad realizations, shattered lives...Of course, I am wondering is Jimmy Lyons the king of cats? This book left me satiated for another story for a few days.

I actually bought this book about a year ago, but I just reread it and remembered how much I loved it. I could say a lot of things about it, and summarize the plot, but other customers have already done that so I won't bother. But I will say that this book does exactly what a great book should do: it affects you, and it leaves you thinking about the characters long after you're done reading. (Plus it makes me cry.)