Cats In Cornwall

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31327, 25 March 1967, Page 4

Cats In Cornwall

Lama. By Derek Tangye. Michael Joseph. 160 pp. There are cat lovers and eat haters, and very few human beings fall between the two extremes. Derek Tangye in fact belongs to the latter category by nature and by background, but in his lifetime has so far made exceptions for two cats. First Monty, the hero of “A Cat in the Window,” and his faithful companion for 15 years, won his whole-hearted affection. After Monty’s death he swore he would never own another cat, unless, he suggested playfully, a pure black cat arrived out of the blue at his door-step on a stormy night. Then, incredibly, into his life sneaked Lama, who fulfilled all his absurd conditions. Lama—the mysterious black cat who spent weeks observing the Tangye household before committing herself; the untraceable animal with no apparent home; the creature of the wilds who had to be taught how to play.

Derek’s wife Jeannie—an incorrigible cat-lover was jubilant, while he was forced to resign himself to this extraordinary trick of fate. Gradually he came to love and admire Lama for her own unusual character, and even the cat-hating reader will surely be seduced by Lama’s wiles, for she is indeed charming. Lama, however, is but one of a number of factors which add up to the unusually peaceful and contented atmosphere of the book. Those who have read the four preceding books of this author will be familiar with the flower farm, Minack, on the Cornish coast, where he lives with his wife, their two donkeys, and the drake Boris. Their home is a tiny stone cottage, and their life together is one of tranquil simplicity, their small world self-sufficient and warm. The book is a pleasure to read, entirely free from pretension or sentimentality.