A Cat Abroad: The Further Adventures of Norton, the Cat Who Went to Paris, and His Human (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The line between cute and twee is easy to cross when writing a cat book, and Gethers steers a precarious course between the two. Then again, that may be the cat's doing. Norton, Gethers's Scottish Fold, lacks most of the feline foibles that would give him a certain universal resonance. The cat is told just once not to scratch the furniture in the 300-year-old house that Gethers rents for the year with girlfriend Janis and thereafter (remember, Crown classifies this as Nonfiction/Pets), Norton does not scratch the furniture . Norton runs away one time--but waits for Gethers to trot down the block and pick him up. For readers with real cats--psychotically territorial, determinedly sedentary and often a tad snitty--Norton will seem like a small dog who has had a lot of plastic surgery. On the other hand, Gethers sans chat is often funny, self-deprecating and loves food, which makes him a fitting guide to the over-chronicled byways of Southern France. As the former head of Villard and Random House editor-at-large, Gethers's recollections of the publication of his earlier book, The Cat Who Went to Paris , makes interesting reading for publishing types.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

He's back as a celebrity now--Norton the adorable Scottish fold cat whose adventures were chronicled by Gethers in The Cat Who Went to Paris ( LJ 9/1/91). Norton the star now dines on Pounce pizza prepared by superstar chef Wolfgang Puck, stays in a famous New Orleans hotel that has a no-pets policy, tours the United States on the TV talk-show circuit, and receives fan mail and photos from humans as well as cats. Most of this book describes Norton and Peter's year in Provence, where Norton's days in a beautiful 300-year-old country home are filled with naps in the garden, exploring the neighborhood, and more napping in the lap of his human. Gethers's writing style is amusing, although he also reflects occasionally on the mortality of his furry friend as well as his own. Readers who were previously charmed by Norton will be delighted with this book. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 5/1/93.
- Eva Lautemann, DeKalb Coll. Lib., Clarkston, Ga.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 243 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (August 9, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449909522
• ISBN-13: 978-0449909522
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #406,922 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Aristo-cat Goes Abroad - and Charms Us All, March 1, 2002

By	Annette Munson (St. Louis, Missouri United States) - See all my reviews

Before you read another of word of this glowing review, know this: I am an unabashed, unambiguous, gushing and adoring Norton-phile - and I always will be. If you're looking for objectivity, you won't find it from this reviewer..."A Cat Abroad" was author Peter Gethers's second installment in his trilogy of Norton-ology. Originally published in 1993, the book chronicled the adventures of a precious Scottish Fold named Norton, whose enchanting and coquettish personality, singular intelligence and other-worldly savvy endeared him to all who knew him - or read about him. Norton was such a brilliant little creature - and such a treasured companion to Gethers - that his stunning physical beauty could have been a mere sideline to his power and magnetism. But it wasn't. Norton was so staggeringly cute and handsome (those ears! those eyes - which look like irridescent half-moons when he looks down! The fur like spun silk!) that he commanded the attention - and deference - of Oscar-winning actors, filmmaking geniuses, hotel managers, restaurant proprietors, best-selling authors (i.e., Gethers), and anyone else who had the pleasure of meeting him. Of course, there was much, much more to Norton than a handsome face and physique, as Gethers lovingly depicts here. Norton guided his owner's professional sphere, love life, and varied friendships with skill and ease - and taught him many lessons in the process. In return, Gethers provided his beloved little companion with the most wonderful life any animal has ever enjoyed. (Get a load of the answer Gethers provides when one Norton fan asks him, "Why won't my cat act like Norton?" Trust me, Gethers was the owner Norton was born to have....) How it warms the heart to read of Norton's intriguing adventures throughout Europe and how he charmed everyone within purring distance with his charisma and stellar comportment! In the first Norton installment (The Cat Who Went to Paris), Gethers describes his first meeting with his new friend - and how he lost his heart in approximately one-tenth of a second. "I don't think he's a normal cat," Gethers was told, in what was probably the understatement of the year. Sadly, however, Norton had one trait in common with the remainder of the feline race - length of life...If you think you know all there is to know about pet loss and grief read this book - as well as "The Cat Who Went to Paris" and "The Cat Who'll Live Forever." Norton has captured a part of my heart as no other animal ever has - and it's a love that endures beyond death.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From a Cat Lover, November 26, 2002

By	M. Kinch "chaoticpi" (Columbus, Ohio) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When I was in Third to Fourth grade I read A Cat Who Went to Paris. I fell in love with a cat named Norton, and a human, who put up with this regal feline's cat-titude. When I went to the bookstore and saw that he had a second book about the small cat, I spent all my christmas money (I was 11 and only had 15$ in my hands) on that book.

I started reading it in the car with the interior light and began again, the adventures of Norton the Cat. From starting at the Superbowl all the way to going home after spending time abroad in Paris. I was yet again hooked. There were touching parts, and some parts which made you want to laugh. In fact the part where Norm and Peter and everyone was piled into the car and stuck in Italian traffic had me rolling for an hour. Even now I get a good chuckle out of it when I read it over again.

I'll never forget the first time I heard that Norton had died. I was at the beauty shop reading People Magazine when I came across that article. I remember tears starting to burn in my eyes and people asking me what was wrong. When I showed them, they blamed it on me being a kid (I was 14). I'll never forget Norton nor Peter for the rest of my life.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars More of a travel book, February 24, 2003

By	Pumpkin King - See all my reviews

I found this to be the least interesting of the three Norton books. Norton is not quite as prominent, and it's more about Peter and Janis and their travels through Europe, the things they did, and the people they met. Gethers' humor is a little overdone here too. After THE CAT WHO WENT TO PARIS, the same type of gags can get a little tiring, though it may be my fault for reading all three books at once. The fact that I did go through all three books shows however that Gethers captured my interest, and while comparing this to the other two can only disappoint, Norton fans will probably enjoy it anyway.