The Wildings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A thrillingly original story of the adventures of a small band of feral cats in Delhi who communicate by whisker mind-link, and face an unprecedented threat to their tribe's survival; for readers of Life of Pi and Philip Pullman.
In the labyrinthine alleys and ruins of Nizamuddin, an old neighbourhood in Delhi, India, lives a small band of cats. Miao, the clan elder, a wise, grave Siamese; Katar, loved by his followers and feared by his enemies; Hulo, the great warrior tom; Beraal, the beautiful queen, swift and deadly when challenged; Southpaw, the kitten whose curiosity can always be counted on to get him into trouble... Unfettered and wild, these and the other members of the tribe fear no one, go where they will, and do as they please. Until one day, a terrified orange-coloured kitten with monsoon green eyes and remarkable powers lands in their midst--the first in a series of extraordinary events that threatens to annihilate them and everything they hold dear.
The Wildings is a gorgeous evocation of Delhi, a love paean to cats and a rich, often savage tale of survival and conquering one's fears.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Roy's anthropomorphic debut novel imagines the intimate life of cats in an urban neighborhood, a rich and vibrant environment inhabited by many other creatures who are both hunters and hunted. Roy cleverly draws the reader into a world revealed through the thoughts, conversations and actions of cats, mongooses, mice, rats, and birds. Their relationships are complex and intriguing, as they regard one another with respect, curiosity, fear, and sometimes compassion and protectiveness. In a derelict neighborhood of Delhi, India, the wildings, who have always lived outside, respecting the essential laws of nature in the territory they have shared with other animals, are suddenly threatened. Many feral cats, who have lived all of their lives in filthy, crowded conditions inside "the Shuttered House," are released into the community when the elderly man with whom they have lived, dies. Having never learned to respect the laws of nature, the ferals, excited by the lush resource of available wild "meat," begin ravaging the area. An incredible battle to the death ensues. Much depends on Mara, an orange kitten with special powers of communicating with cats of all kinds, and the wildings' collective capacity for cooperation and respect. Roy's imaginative tale makes an evocative comment on life and survival.
