Oblomov's Reviews > The Rabbi's Cat

Weary of its constant squawking, a Rabbi's cat decides to eat the family parrot, and thus gains the power of speech. With his new found communication skills, the moggy's first demand is that his master gives him a Bar Mitzvah.

Plot:
The Rabbi's Cat is as ambling and episodic as the usual daily life of outdoor cats, but if there's an over arching story, then it's about life in Algiers, tradition versus modernity and the questioning of religious practices. It's a gentle, idle journey with a few struggles, silly episodes and some fascinating theological discussions, which are never offered black and white answers. Aside from our foul little feline, our main character is the rather loveable Rabbi himself, a good natured and mostly easy going fellow who developes from somewhat orthodox to open minded and accepting of the changing world. It's all quite lovely.

Art style:
Sporadic. The style seems to change on a whim from realistic tracings to squiggles only barely suggestive of human features, and the cat gets the worse deal as it constantly changes between cat like, rat like and ferret like within the space of a few panels. Other characters are a little more stable, such as the Rabbi's always pretty daughter and son in law, and the Rabbi himself has a Raymond Briggs like, pudgy, sweet face. The comforting warmth of Algiers and later the dreary and unfriendly rain of Paris is captured quite well, and as inconsistent as the art can be it's never too distracting from the fascinating text.

Meandering through warm countryside, cold streets and man's relationship to God and our ancestor's dogma, this an enjoyable and quite relaxing saunter, sure to leave a little smile on your face when you're done.