Matthew Flinder's Cat

By: Bryce Courtenay

Narrated by: Humphrey Bower

Length: 16 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

The story of a drunk, a boy, and a cat. Billy O'Shannessy, once a prominent barrister, is now on the street where he sleeps on a bench outside the State Library. Above him on the window sill rests a bronze statue of Matthew Flinders' cat, Trim. Ryan is a 10-year-old, a near-street kid heading for the usual trouble. The two form an unlikely bond. Through telling Ryan the story of Flinders' circumnavigation of Australia as seen through Trim's eyes, Billy is drawn deeply into Ryan's life and into the Sydney underworld.

©2013 Christine Courtenay (P)2014 Publishing Pty. Ltd

Matthew Flinder's Cat

What a delightful surprise. The daily pattern of a street alcoholic is all that keeps Billy (former Barrister) together. His morning coffee, reciting poetry for mynah birds he is eliminating on the steps of the court house, the conservatory in the afternoon, and finally drink in the evening. Then Billy, meets a young lad of 11 who changes his life and makes him want to give up this life of alcohol, and help the child, too.

It does involve much of the seamier side of life, and is set in Australian, but the tale is so good. It involves Prim the cat, Billy's good friends, Mr. Williams, and other vivid caracters.

Top listening!

Rich characterisation, rich language, light hearted but serious and altogether, a good story. Bryce Courtenay and Humphrey Bower have produced a wonderful piece of entertainment. It's been a long time since I enjoyed a book so much. Could not put this one down.

A touching, non-classic story

Its surprising how much you can come to love a drunk and find faith in humanity again based on his platonic friendship with a runaway/homeless kid. I always enjoy a good fiction beyond the he loves her, she loves him, or the action hero who saves the day, or blah blah blah. If you're looking for a simple, sweet story, this is a good choice.

WORTHWHILE, BUT NOT COURTNEY'S BEST

This strange and flawed book is actually part history and part modern fiction. Listening to it is like listening to "Rock Around the Clock" against "Adeste Fidelis." Disorienting, absurd. I certainly did not mind the profanity. But I found the style of very good writing to be inconsistent. Great chunks are more like a magazine article than a great Work of Literature! Mr. Courtenay is gone now, so his feelings won't be hurt. I realize he had to do a lot of research to write this book. And some of the book reads like his notes. I was nowhere nearly as glad to get the cat story as Ryan was. And the cat story ends badly. I certainly did not expect to go through detox and twelve-step discussions. Those parts are good but quite protracted; whereas the details of the happy ending are rushed and shortened. Not good. Not fair. I did not see that marriage coming. We deserved several more delicious hours of that paydirt!

The discussion of co-dependency told me that Bryce didn't really get that part. Melody Beattie wrote "Codependent No More" in 1986. The one book has helped scores of Americans, including me. Codependency is almost a physical pain. You can't sit still. You have to make phone calls, write letters, go talk to someone, go check up on someone who is not doing what you think he/she should be doing. You forget to bathe, eat, do laundry, go to bed while you're being codependent. They're doing it to you and you have to tell them! You simply can't walk away or detach. It is miserable! You go to Al Anon meetings and think you will never be free and happy again. You wonder if you were ever normal. Bryce could have pointed out that people who love an alcoholic are torn up in this manner. Then Billy and his mates could begin to appreciate how deeply they were hurting and had hurt the people in their lives. Little kids who are codependent are affected for their entire lives.

Bower's rendition of the song Strange Fruit is very beautiful. He is excellent as usual. Nice meow, too!

Heartfelt and inspiring.

Although it took a few chapters before I felt the flow I was thoroughly intrigued and entertained by the characters and their extreme honesty. This book tackles two very important subjects. 1. alcoholism and addiction and 2. pedophilia. I am actually amazed that a book based on these two huge, touchy, frightening, politically awkward issues would be so engrossing, educational and compelling.
Well done Bryce. You rock! :-)

Fantastic listen.

Fantastic listen! Bryce Courtenay’s books are always a brilliant read. Humphrey Bower transforms the read into an incredibly engrossing listen! He is outstanding! I highly recommend this book. Thank you!

Poetry and humanity

In MATTHEW FINDER'S CAT, Bryce Courtnay helped me understand someone I knew (or thought I did and now realize I never did). As TANDIA brought home the reality of apartheid and APRIL FOOLS DAY the reality of AIDS on a person and those who knew or know him or her, MATTHEW FLINDER'S CAT is a sensitive and powerful story of alcoholiam. But it's more; the story is about youth, old age, friendship, bias, love, family and relationships.

Compelling story with some heavy topics

The narrator was awesome and made the characters come to life. The book was a bit of a rollercoaster ride, took me from laughter to tears. I wasn't expecting the story to be so detailed and the reader should be aware there are mature topics contained including drugs and sex not intended for the naive reader who would like to stay that way. I am undecided if I will try another book by this author, I think I would like to have a better understanding of the content first. But this was a good book and performance overall.

Amazing narrator, great story!

Very good story, and the writing was superb, the description was great and the reader was perfect!

A trip through lives

Great story, characters, and hope. Wonderful reader for such an amazing tale. Don't miss it, you'll miss something you'll carry with you and never forget.