Cats in the Sun (Paperback)

~ (Author) "I ought to begin with the Greeks, and especially those who live in the Cycladic Islands..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Cats in the Sun is the product of Hans Silvester's three-year investment in photographing the cats of the Greek Cycladic Islands. Every picture captures the essence of the unspoiled Mediterranean landscape--sun-drenched villas, a sparkling sea, and shady olive groves. Dominating this exquisite panorama are hundreds of cats, respected--but not domesticated--by locals, happy to have the army of mouse-catchers nearby.

Definite classes of cat exist on the Cycladic Islands: there are the true rogue cats--scavenging for food, unkempt, with a missing piece of ear or two--and then there are the more privileged class members, regularly fed by Islanders and allowed the honor of a doorstep on which to perch (but still denied entrance into the home). The individualism of each cat is evident in every portrait--a mother nurturing her brood of kittens, a cat frolicking in the gentle swill of a wave, a cat peeping through a paint-peeled window frame. Cats in the Sun is an astonishing collection of photographs that captures the true spirit of the beloved feline. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Felines and sunshine--is there a match more sublime in the universe? Noted German photographer Silvester spent three years capturing on film the cats of the Greek Islands, whose solar needs are as vital as those for food and water. These cats live not indoors, but neither are they strays. "Greeks allow no pets in their homes, except for their canaries. Yet the cats are true domestic cats, not abandoned or wild, and they have for centuries shared the lives of human beings." The sunny outdoors is their domain, and without a hint of kitty-cutesiness, Silvester captures these spirited animals in their splendid environment--in leap, as is their talent; in a languished state, as is their nature; in grooming, as is their obsession; and in play and in hunt, their dual wants. For any appreciator of fine photography, not just those who love cats. Brad Hooper --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books; 1st pb ed edition (August 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811810933
• ISBN-13: 978-0811810937
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 9.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,776,377 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reduced to reviewing coffee table books, January 26, 2001

By	Joseph Haschka (Glendale, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Cats in the Sun (Hardcover)

My wife and I are the pets of two calico felines, Tessa and Trouble. Knowing that we're cat people, friends tend to give us gifts with that relationship in mind. I wish they or we would snap out of it, because some of the Stuff, while well meant, is way too cute or too tacky, or both. (Instead, Amazon gift certificates are always welcome - hint, hint!) However, one offering, CATS IN THE SUN, was well received, and is much appreciated.

This is a coffee table tome with five pages of introductory text. Then, on each of the following 137, not a solitary word is printed, but rather a single, rich, 5.5 X 8.25-inch color photograph. The images were all taken by Hans Silvester on the sun drenched Greek islands of Mykonos, Milos and Naxos, where large populations of domestic cats run semi-wild. While the islands' inhabitants allow none indoors, the animals are tolerated, and sometimes actively cared for, with a detached affection. In return, the rodent populations are suppressed with a vengeance.

Too many books and calendars featuring kitty pictures are cloyingly cute, usually because they tend to emphasize kittens. Refreshingly, this book is not. It features cats, both kittens and adults, in unstaged, natural situations. Cats on streets, steps, rooftops, harbor quays, walls, tree limbs, rocks, chairs, ledges and pathways. Cats sleeping, lounging, climbing, washing, eating, hunting, leaping, courting, fighting, carousing, watching, sitting, exploring, running and walking. Cats alone. Cats in pairs. Cats in groups. Rarely, cats with people or dogs. Short and long-haired cats, in all sizes, colorations and fur patterns. I think Silvester burned through a lot of film.

Among all the glorious pigments, textures, patterns, sunbeams and shadows, I have two favorite images. One, a group of seven cats, all with tails raised and end-curled, walking along with a local codger who is carrying something edible in a plastic sack. (I know it's edible, because that's what our owners look like at six in the morning as I carry the can of TigerChow to the opener.) The other, a cat standing on its hind legs, inquisitively peering into the lower end of a roof's downspout. Then, there are those two curious photos, one of a man painting the base of a wall, the other of some sun-dappled steps, in which no cat is visible at all. Am I (not) seeing the local Cheshire Cat?

I consider most coffee table books as useful as Christmas fruitcakes. (You know, the ones with those hateful little green bits.) However, if you like cats, then CATS IN THE SUN is worth savoring.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Two sides to every story, October 24, 2000

By	heather tyler (sydney, nsw Australia) - See all my reviews

This is a lovely coffee table book, celebrating feline beauty in many forms, set in the incomparable beauty of Greece. Hans Silvester's photographs are captivating but only tell part of the story of Greece's cats. They are an integral part of Greece's landscape but their lives are not always beautiful. They are also tales of neglect, disease and cruelty. Anybody who photographs Greece's cats for profit should maybe consider donating some proceeds to their welfare. As much as I enjoyed looking at the photographs, I was uncomfortably aware of the other side of the story, having lived in the region for many years. The book was censorship - a bit like going to Ethiopia and only taking pictures of well-fed children.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unsentimental and exquisite, September 19, 2000

By	Mary M. Lamberson "Peggy Lamberson" (Oxford, GA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Cats in the Sun (Hardcover)

Silvester's photographs capture the essential beauty and character of these cats. He does nothing to sentimentalize them or make them "cute". If you like cats for what they are as opposed to over-groomed and posed in baskets and such, you will love these photographs.