Status
Available
Genres
Publication
New York : Ballantine Books, 1990.
Description
Cloaked among the leopard skins in his father's Berlin fur shop, young Max Schmidt grows up dreaming of adventure and intrigue. When as a young man an illicit affair gets him denounced to the Nazi secret police, Max barely escapes on a freighter -- only to founder off the coast of South America. Trapped in a dinghy with a hungry jaguar, he believes his days are numbered -- until he washes ashore on the coast of Brazil prepared to begin life anew. But just when he thinks he has left behind the cats of his youth, another appears...and Max realizes the time has come to take his destiny into his own hands. Book jacket.
User reviews
LibraryThing member FFortuna
I believe Yann Martel when he says he didn't read this book, just borrowed the lifeboat idea from it. On the surface it seems very similar because of the cat theme and everything, but this book is about Nazis and Brazil and the cats seem to be much more of a straightforward metaphor, symbolizing
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the main character's psychology through the years. It is similar to Life of Pi, but each should be read as its own novel. They're both very deep and thought-provoking. Show Less
LibraryThing member ivan.frade
I discovered this book because of the plagiarism case with Life of Pi. I guess whoever claimed it didn't read beyond the summary of this book. There is a shripweck and a survivor in a boat, but in this book it is just a very brief moment and just one of the multiple adventures of the character.
Easy
Easy
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words and fable story, this was a enjoyable reading that let me with the feeling that more/deeper readings are possible. Show Less
LibraryThing member grandpahobo
I read this mainly because it was cited as an inspiration by the author of Life of Pi. It was interesting, but rambled on in various directions without a coherent purpose or plot line.
LibraryThing member Bookish59
Sadly unsatisfying and disconcerting.
Language
Original language
Portuguese