Readers that liked "Tuesdays with Morrie" will enjoy William Jordan's "A Cat Named Darwin," a touching autobiographical story about a man who learns valuable life lessons by befriending a stray cat.
In some ways, "A Cat Named Darwin" is very similar to "Tuesdays with Morrie," by Mitch Album, which all freshmen were given this year. Both books are about men who learn about life through accidentally finding someone who becomes a major part of their life.
Jordan's novel is a nice weekend read about a man who finds out about life and relationships through befriending a stray tomcat that hangs around his neighborhood.
One night, Jordan was taking out the garbage when he discovered that a cat he had thought belonged to a neighbor was, in reality, a stray. The cat scavenged food from garbage cans, was extremely skinny, and covered with fleas. He quickly overcame his apprehension to approach the big, orange tomcat, which he eventually named Darwin.
Darwin soon became the center of his adoptive owner's life and the book takes you on a journey as Jordan learns to love cats and realizes his love for Darwin.
Jordan's journey begins at the University of Bath, in England, where he is on vacation. When feeling down and lonely, Jordan finds that he is comforted by the memory of Darwin.
"I was sitting there, depressed, when Darwin appeared. He sat by my feet, looking up at me, oblivious to the world of human cunning and malice, and regarded me with the clear, pure honesty that only those without intellect can know. Here, in a moment of stress, I found myself thinking of a cat, and it struck me how enormously comforting the thought was," Jordan wrote.
Later in the novel, Jordan takes Darwin on a routine visit to the veterinarian; Jordan learns that Darwin is suffering from feline leukemia virus, an untreatable and fatal feline disease. Determined to makes Darwin's last few months comfortable, Jordan finds a way to pay for the expensive treatment that he cannot afford.
Jordan, a practicing biologist with a doctorate in entomology from the University of California at Berkeley, writes down his experiences in a very comfortable way. He records his observations the way a scientist would record a theory. Despite the fact that Jordan writes like a scientist, the book does not read like a biology textbook. His empirical style of recording his observations and the lessons he learned were more interesting than one might expect.
Jordan also writes with a brand of humor that is subtle until the punch line. For example, when speaking of the apprehension he felt the first time Darwin slept on his bed, Jordan writes:
"Here I am, flat on my back. I have broken through the barriers of my culture and my private feelings and accepted an animal into my circle of loved ones. I am jet-lagged. I am almost delirious with fatigue. Yes, I feel true affection for this little creature. No, I do not want to sleep with him."
This humorous excerpt is contrasted by a passage later in the story, when Jordan's love for Darwin finally grants the cat access to Jordan's bed.
"Thus, Darwin and I became man and cat," he concedes.
"A Cat Named Darwin" is a novel that can appeal to anyone, animal lover or not, but there are some flaws in Jordan's novel. There are some passages that are a little slow, where Jordan tends to go on about nothing. In these places, it sounds too much like unnecessary stream of consciousness writing.
In the end, this book is all about how a stray cat changed an unfeeling man into an emotional human being. Despite occasional slow points, "A Cat Named Darwin" is a good book to sit down and read on a snowy afternoon with some hot chocolate.
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
