Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats - T.S. Eliot

[goodreads]

Title: Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats Author: T.S. Eliot Genre: Poetry Rating: 4/5 # pages: 64 Date read: July 2008, October 2013

Summary: Old Possum's Book, originally published in 1939 and dedicated to Eliot's godchildren, contains a delightful rogues' gallery of felines, including the Rum Tum Tugger cat whose "disobliging ways are a matter of habit", Mr Mistoffelees "The Original Conjuring Cat" and Macavity: The Mystery Cat "the master criminal who can defy the law".

Review: I love the musical Cats, so thought I ought to read the original poems. It's practically impossible to distinguish one from the other, because Webber has taken the poems almost word for word - meaning I cannot read any of them without hearing the songs in my head. That being the case - and I know it's sacrilege - I'd recommend the play over the book any day.

Comments

[bogormen.livejournal.com]

You've seen Cats more times than I have then, so that might have something to do with it ;)

I saw it first in London when I was 14 and again when I was 16, then in Denmark when I was 19 and again when I was 23 and 28. So 5 times all in all if I remember correctly and haven't forgotten any. I've owned and loved the soundtrack since I was 11 though.