What a terrific book. Having read “The Power of One” and it’s sequel, I was hopeful that that terrific book wasn’t just a flash in the pan and was happy to find that this book is every bit as challenging and as well researched.
To my Bryce Courtenay a modern-day Dickens - a great storyteller and one who doesn’t shy away from the realities of life.
While the ending is a teeny bit abrupt I smiled and cried and loved my way through this book. Fantastic.

I was originally drawn to this book by two things:
1) The Title (I'd never heard of Matthew Flinders before and wanted to know what about his cat was so memorable)
2) The Book Jacket (a wonderful picture of a most intelligent looking pussycat!)

Well, they say you can't tell a book by its cover, but I beg to differ.. I found a story about a very intelligent, might even call him a canny cat. The owner of the cat (if you think a cat can have an owner, that is...) was not the protagonist in this tale.

The synopsis on the inside flap says "This is a story about a boy, a man, and a cat." The story was told to young boy Ryan by Billy and is about Trim, the cat.

The book, however, is more about Billy and his search to gain sobriety and some measure of stability in the Australian system.

I kept on reading, and found some interesting ideas to think about, as well as some history that I had never heard about.

I would recommend this book, but I have to admit it was not what I had expected. I was happily surprised.

tuebl epub version 12/7/13


By co-incidence I saw Flinders' cat Trim the other day.......
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he's on the roof of the State Library of New South Wales and is easy to miss if you don't know he's there. (In reality he circumnavigated the world with Flinders and met his untimely death marooned on the island of Mauritius.)

just near Flinders' statue.......
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Bryce's inspiration is not far fetched as that particular spot by the Flinders' statue had two homeless people huddled underneath, and St. James station subway has many more. It's quite sad in a city of plenty to see.

If I could give this book less stars, I would. What a terrible story in every sense.

This was my first Courtenay book and I was totally engaged at the start and loved the descriptions of Sydney and how he clearly knew the city well. I also really empathised with Billy, our main character who is a homeless alcoholic ex-barrister, and I thought the character writing was great.
There were a couple of issues with the book though. Firstly, the length. It was quite repetitive by about 2/3 through and I thought could have used a much more thorough edit. Another part that bothered me was that it is called "Matthew Flinders' Cat", but the book is mainly about alcoholism and paedophilia. So although some of the Cat snippets were quite interesting at the start, by the end they felt completely out of place and like a story interruption.
It gets 3 stars from me, and a high five for the audio narration, but I'm not sure that I would recommend the book.

Side note - walking down Macquarie Street last night I saw Flinders’ statue outside the library and directly behind him is the statue of Trim, his cat. I thought that was quite cool as I hadn’t known that prior to reading this book!

When the little boy turns up to ask this homeless man about the statue of a cat... you fall in love with them both from that moment ‘til the last page. Both from the same world, in a sense, but very different circumstances. I even had to google to make sure the guys didn’t exist! Brilliantly written.

I had mixed feelings about this book. The story line was good but could have used some added depth. I feel like I never really got to know the characters, just superficially. The plot was kind of predictable, and at times found it feeling a bit like a textbook on addictions. I liked the story of the cat, but the two lines through the book felt awkward. Overall it was an ok read, and got much better near the end. I did find the cultural language difficult to comprehend at times as well.

It’s been a very long time since I’ve read a Bryce Courtenay novel and I’d completely forgotten how much I enjoy this writing style and in particular his unique ability to create diverse genuine characters and bring them to life.
This is a fabulous novel and a must read for so many reasons. It’s provides an incredible insight into addiction, life on the street and the opportunistic predators that prey on the vulnerable.
But most importantly it’s a story of hope, friendship, love, overcoming adversity and the power of people supporting people.
Highly recommended.

I enjoyed this but it was nothing like I expected it to be. I loved the story of Trim but the real story of the book - one of addiction and abuse - was compelling. I was scared to read the end, but as is so often the case, I was disappointed. Maybe authors should think about the end of their story first!

After reading several British and American books this year, I felt a craving for something completely Australian, which is just what this is. I picked it up at a second hand shop.

Billy O'Shannessy is a drunken ex-barrister who has become a street bum. He still keeps an eye on the world around him and writes letters to the Sydney Morning Herald, because he believes 'alcoholism and writing have a long history together.' He wants to write convincing essays about Australian history and ecology, but never stays sober long enough. However, he does try to do his bit for our country by culling the pesky mynah birds which have overrun and threatened the native species. He has a past which partially explains his dramatic lifestyle change, but desperately tries not to think about it.

Ryan Sanfrancesco is a bright young boy who gets Billy talking about the statue in the library window above his park bench, which happens to be Matthew Flinders and his cat, Trim. Drawing from his knowledge of this legendary ship's cat, Billy intrigues Ryan with true stories from Flinders' own memoirs, that become inspirational to both of them.

I love how appearances can be deceiving. Billy presents the face of a hopeless alcoholic, but deep down, he's an educated, entertaining storyteller. On the surface, Ryan is a street-smart brat with a bleak future, but really he's an innocent young boy who responds to goodness and heroism when it's presented to him in legends.

Alas, there are those who are suspicious about the friendship between the pair, and even worse, the story delves into a seamy, horrific part of Sydney culture which I won't spoil by mentioning straight out. Suffice to say, it gets to a point where only deep concern for Ryan's welfare is enough to get Billy to clean up his act, since he's really the only hope the boy has. In the process, Bryce Courtenay exposes some abysmal organised crime which is shocking to read about.

Some interesting, fairly recent history is revealed in this novel too, such as the government's attempt to shift undesirables out of the city to Surfers Paradise in the lead-up to the 2000 Olympics. Who would've thought? I really appreciated the glimpse into the vast goodness of charities such as the Salvation Army, in the lives of so many helpless sufferers. It's great to have their quiet heroism featured in stories, when it might otherwise slip under the radar for those of us who don't experience it directly. I felt like giving them a standing ovation.

I noticed that not all reviews of this book on Goodreads and Amazon are positive. That seems to be partly because of the disparate threads. Those interested in following Billy's journey to sobriety might find the Trim stories long and irrelevant, while people who were drawn to the title and cover might just want stories about Captain Flinders' adventures aboard the Investigator, and not care so much about the drinking and crime themes. Yet I think Courtenay really did draw them together. Even though it's a thick book, it's easy to get through the pages quickly, which is a sign of a good flow.

Examining history can reveal a lot about our own attitudes and actions, as Billy discovers when he prepares the different installments of the story for Ryan. The famous cat shows qualities he wishes he could've adopted in his own life, and becomes his inspiration. I found all the different stories interesting and well-written.

Finally, as a fellow cat lover, I love Billy and Ryan partly for their mutual affection for Trim. I quite understand why Ryan would return to the park bench for the second time, to tell Billy, 'I've come about the cat.' The cover of my copy appeals to me. Something about the memory of 200-year-old Trim overlooking the Sydney Harbour seems sort of haunting.

For more reviews and book chat, check out my blog, https://vincereview.blogspot.com.au/

Gee!Mr Courtenay can spin a good yarn! Who would have thought to interweave such two disparate stories, one historical about a cat and one current and do it so naturally and seamlessly. He hits the nail on the head in regards to homelessness, addiction, deprivation and the criminal elements that play a part in the downfall of those gripped by adversity. The narrator is brilliant.

A positive, inspirational story, and one told with immaculate detail, almost to a overloading degree. Courtney creates a compelling set of characters, however the only flaw (in addition to moments when the information and detail he provides actually kneecaps the momentum of the story), is the ending, which by comparison to the rest of the story, feels somewhat rushed. The ending is good, but delivered very quickly.

Still, a very enjoyable read, and one of Courtney's better and underrated novels.