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

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!

I like the cat

This book has two stories in one, both are good but both also some have slow moments. They drag for awhile and then come back to life. I enjoyed the characters and the narration. I was a derelict for several years after I left high school and an alcoholic while in my junior and senior high school years. My experience helped me relate to the characters and the Salvation Army (my favorite charity). I also enjoyed the vocabulary. I give this book three stars for being an average, good book.

Another Winner

Bryce Courtaney is a Master, have yet to read/listen to one of his that I have not LOVED and Humphrey Bower's voice is incredible. I can't imagine anyone not truly enjoying this one!

ANOTHER GREAT BOOK BY BRYCE COURTNEY

Another great book by Bryce Courtney.
He never disappoints me. I have listened to all of his books. Sometimes more than once.

A Sensational Book

Bryce Courtenay does it again. A great book. Some of his books - maybe from the later years of his life - a too morbid and have endings that are tragic and you wonder how they could become that tragic- but not this one. This is an uplifting story and ending against adversity of the most challenging and degraded kind.
This guy is such a story teller - in my books - probably the best I have ever heard.
And his Narrator Humphrey Bower is well chosen and sensational too.

Mind opening with 2 great stories in one. Lovely narration.

This book opened so many doors into worlds I have little knowledge of and gave me compassion for the abandoned and invisible in the work.

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.