Free delivery on all orders above $30
Get 10% off all year round! Join Thryft Club
Get 10% off all year round and $10 off your next order! Join Thryft Club

Your cart

Your cart is empty

Check out these collections!

Bestselling Fiction
Bestselling Nonfiction
Bestselling Books for Children
Vintage and Rare Books
Vinyl Records
Women's Clothing
Men's Clothing

Stay in touch and win free books

Keep up with our latest sales and events, and receive
recommendations direct to your inbox. We'll only send the good stuff, promise!

By completing this form, you are signing up to receive our emails and can unsubscribe at any time

The Cat's Table

by Michael Ondaatje
The Cat's Table
The Cat's Table

Childhood adventure on a transformative sea journey.

If you're drawn to stories of childhood wonder and the nostalgia that comes with reminiscing about youthful escapades, "The Cat's Table" by Michael Ondaatje could be a brilliant addition to your collection. Set against the backdrop of a grand voyage, this novel offers you a tapestry of adventures and the indelible impact of formative experiences. As the ship glides through oceans, so does the narrative through the vibrant interplay between innocence and the verge of adulthood, all captured through Ondaatje's evocative prose that's known to leave a lasting impression.

  • Hammett Prize Nominee (2011)
  • Scotiabank Giller Prize Nominee (2011)
  • Los Angeles Times Book Prize Nominee for Fiction (2011)
  • Dayton Literary Peace Prize Nominee for Fiction (2012)
  • Andrew Carnegie Medal Nominee for Fiction (2012)
Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.

The Cat's Table

by Michael Ondaatje
Condition guide

Book Condition Guide

Books in Like New Condition

This book may contain very minor cosmetic defects, but it is in pristine condition. There should be no yellowing, no foxing, no water damage, and no annotations of any kind on the cover and the pages. For paperbacks, there should not be any crease marks on the spine. This book is good as new — lucky you!

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

Books in Very Good Condition

This book has been used, but it is still in a clean condition. There should be no foxing or annotations of any kind on the inner pages, but a sparse amount may be present on the cover, title pages, or outside edges of the book. There should be no water damage of any kind. For paperbacks, there may be light crease marks on the spine.

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

Books in Good Condition

We do our best to ensure the quality of our books, but there is no escaping the wear and tear that comes with time. Slight foxing and some annotations may be present on the pages and the cover. There should be no water damage of any kind. For paperbacks, there may be several crease marks on the spine.

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

Books in Well Read Condition

This is a well-read book, which means that the previous owner probably really enjoyed it! The cover and pages may include moderate foxing and annotations, but the text is not obscured and still readable. Moderate cosmetic defects and minor water damage may be present on the edges of the book. For paperbacks, there may be multiple crease marks on the spine.

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

 

Find out more about our process here.

Special Offer

Buy 3, Get 1 Free On All Items Under S$10

Add 4 items under S$10 to your cart — the cheapest one is on us.

ISBN: 9780224093620
Authors: Michael Ondaatje
Publisher: Random House Export
Date of Publication: 2011-01-01
Format: Paperback
Related Collections: Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
Related Topics: Literature, Asian Literature
Goodreads rating: 3.62
(rated by 27089 readers)

Description

In the early 1950s, an eleven-year-old boy boards a huge liner bound for England - a 'castle that was to cross the sea'. At mealtimes, he is placed at the lowly 'Cat's Table' with an eccentric group of grown-ups and two other boys, Cassius and Ramadhin. As the ship makes its way across the Indian Ocean, through the Suez Canal, into the Mediterranean, the boys become involved in the worlds and stories of the adults around them, tumbling from one adventure and delicious discovery to another, 'bursting all over the place like freed mercury'. And at night, the boys spy on a shackled prisoner - his crime and fate a galvanizing mystery that will haunt them forever. As the narrative moves from the decks and holds of the ship and the boy's adult years, it tells a spellbinding story about the difference between the magical openness of childhood and the burdens of earned understanding - about a life-long journey that began unexpectedly with a spectacular sea voyage, when all on board were 'free of the realities of the earth'. With the ocean liner a brilliant microcosm for the floating dream of childhood, The Cat's Table is a vivid, poignant and thrilling book, full of Ondaatje's trademark set-pieces and breathtaking a story told with a child's sense of wonder by a novelist at the very height of his powers.
 

Childhood adventure on a transformative sea journey.

If you're drawn to stories of childhood wonder and the nostalgia that comes with reminiscing about youthful escapades, "The Cat's Table" by Michael Ondaatje could be a brilliant addition to your collection. Set against the backdrop of a grand voyage, this novel offers you a tapestry of adventures and the indelible impact of formative experiences. As the ship glides through oceans, so does the narrative through the vibrant interplay between innocence and the verge of adulthood, all captured through Ondaatje's evocative prose that's known to leave a lasting impression.

  • Hammett Prize Nominee (2011)
  • Scotiabank Giller Prize Nominee (2011)
  • Los Angeles Times Book Prize Nominee for Fiction (2011)
  • Dayton Literary Peace Prize Nominee for Fiction (2012)
  • Andrew Carnegie Medal Nominee for Fiction (2012)
Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.