Matthew Flinders Cat: Library Edition [Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

Bryce Courtenay (Author), Humphrey Bower (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 30, 2004

Billy O'Shannessy, once a prominent barrister, is now on the street where he sleeps on a bench outside the State Library. Above him on the window sill rests a bronze statue of Matthew Flinders' cat, Trim. Ryan is a ten-year-old, a near street kid heading for all the usual trouble. The two meet and form an unlikely friendship. Appealing to the boy's imagination by telling him the story of the circumnavigation of Australia as seen through Trim's eyes, Billy is drawn deeply into Ryan's life and into the Sydney underworld. Over several months the two begin the mutual process of rehabilitation. Matthew Flinders' Cat is a modern-day story of a city, its crime, the plight of the homeless and the politics of greed and perversion. It is also a story of the human heart, with an enchanting glimpse into our past form the viewpoint of a famous cat.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bryce Courtenay, bestselling Australian author, wrote his first book, The Power of One, at the age of fifty-five. This became the largest-selling book by a living Australian author within Australia, with over half a million copies sold locally. Having lived in Sydney for forty years, Bryce is a patriotic Australian, who is passionate about Australia becoming a truly great nation in the 21st century. Committed to the cause of literacy and the importance of motivating young people to read, he is actively involved with literacy programs in primary schools Australia-wide. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Bolinda Pub Inc; Unabridged edition (January 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1740309847
• ISBN-13: 978-1740309844
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.7 x 2.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,188,784 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The roles of Trim the cat, June 7, 2007

By 

J. Cameron-Smith "Expect the Unexpected" (ACT, Australia) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Matthew Flinders' Cat (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a difficult novel to define. The three main characters are the street dwelling alcoholic, Billy O'Shannessy, Ryan Sanfrancesco the 11 year old streetwise boy whose future is at risk, and Trim (Matthew Flinders's cat). Trim was, apparently, the first cat to circumnavigate Australia (1801 to 1803) when he accompanied Matthew Flinders.

Potentially, there are at least three stories in this book. The one I focussed on, and enjoyed the most, was the role of Trim, as developed in Billy's imagination and then researched, in saving Billy and Ryan.

The stories of Billy and Ryan did not engage me as much as Trim, yet I enjoyed the way Mr Courtenay wove the separate stories together. There are no real heroes in this story, and yet there is hope. And a kind of irony in that Trim the cat, who was part of the voyages that helped define Australia still has a contemporary role.

Recommended. An interesting, if quirky, novel.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An Aussie and a Cat lover, August 25, 2005

By 

JUANITA CHISHOLM (CALGARY, Alberta, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Matthew Flinders' Cat (Mass Market Paperback)

I love cats and was born but not raised in Australia. I enjoyed this book for all of it's Australian setting, characters and lingo. I found some of the subject matter a bit troubling but am naive to the seedier side of real-life for so many. It was a great mix of past and present, swashbuckling and the settling of Australia and modern day sleazy city life and struggle. I liked it enough that I now search out all books Bryce Courtenay has written and pick and choose the ones with best reviews. I am really, really enjoying "Four Fires".

2 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What's In This Guy's Briefcase? Let's Rob Him And Find Out!, April 30, 2005

By 

John Baranyai "Book Nerd And Ex High School G... - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Matthew Flinders' Cat (Mass Market Paperback)

Reading this book requires an immense "Suspension Of Disbelief" on the part of the reader which I could not quite accomplish. In this book the reader is intoduced to Billy, an ex lawyer turned Homeless Street Alcoholic. Billy sleeps on a park bench with a briefcase handcuffed to his arm!!!One gets the impression that Billy and his briefcase would be separated from each other in about 5 minutes on the mean Homeless Streets of Sydney, Australia and he would be lucky to keep his hand in the process. Instead of being totally absorbed in his quest to find the next available drink ( just like any typical street drunk would do) Billy meets a young boy by the name of Ryan who he takes a liking to. Billy entertains Ryan with fanciful invented tales just like any good lawyer .Ryan has troubles of his own and Billy goes to great lengths to help him. Any resemblance to any real street drunk in this book is purely coincidental. I give this book 5 stars because Mr. Courtenay has written a few good books although this is not one of them.