The Cat Who Could Read Backwards by Lilian Jackson Braun, a review

The book: Engagingly outdated murder mystery, even if it did have an overly tidy solution

The author: Worth reading again

Review:

This was my first time reading one of the "Cat Who..." books. I had heard of them before, generally well-praised, but never got around to reading any of them. One of my local librarians drew my attention to them again a week or so ago, so I picked up one that looked suitably old. I probably should have looked at all of the print dates and chosen one an older one, mainly because I prefer reading any given book series in somewhat of a chronological order. However, with three kidlets in tow who were miffed at how long I was taking, I settled for grabbing one that just looked older.

One of the first things I noted about this book, which had a 1966 copyright but was printed in July of 1986, was that it had a scent that brought me back in time. I suspect the book was stored in somebody's somewhat dank basement before it was bequeathed to my library system, but that endeared it to me all the more. When a story is written as a current piece of fiction, yet is as obviously dated as this one is, it is a much more delightful experience to read about pea green typewriters, clunky corded phones, and apartments that are rented for fifty dollars, with a book whose scent alone brings you back to days of a bygone era. If I were to read a newly printed copy of The Cat Who Could Read Backwards, I doubt very highly that I would enjoy it half as much as I did with that captivatingly musty copy, freshly plucked from my library's shelves for the first time in years.

The story itself is fairly straightforward. Jim Qwilleran joins the Daily Fluxion and is given the assignment to delve into the local art world and report on a few of the characters he meets, all without any actual background in art. He winds up renting an apartment that comes with the occasional pampering of a highly intelligent cat, redundant as that may sound, who has a rare feline ability to read newspapers backwards. I often got the impression that this impressive feline was the one running the show. When several seemingly unrelated deaths appear to coincide, it is up to Qwilleran and that magnificent cat Koko to figure out Whodunnit before they become the next victims.

I found myself deeply engrossed in this enchanting story, despite my initial reserve at reading something clearly outdated. I do enjoy historical fiction, but prefer when it is actually written in future times. This book's perspective on a situation that is supposed to be current, as seen in the 1960s when the book was written, does not quite fit the bill, yet I found myself eagerly sinking into the story instead of feeling mired down by how out of date it could have been. It did not have the historical feel of, say, a Little House on the Prairie, but I distinctly felt the difference that fifty years makes in the presentation of reading material. I found myself pleasantly amused at how "modern art" is still seen by those both in and out of the art world. As they say, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

All in all, I intend to go back to my local library in search of more of Lilian Jackson Braun's works. Her tidy ending might have turned me off to her style of writing, since I do like mysteries to have more of a drawn out solution, but I instead found her description of the everyday life of her characters to be sufficient motivation to draw me back into her world. I am half a century removed from Qwilleran's fictional investigations, yet feel drawn towards the experience of living them through the descriptions of a more than capable author.