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ONDAATJE**, MICHAEL: : The Cat's Table. **

LONDON.JONATHAN CAPE,2011.

ISBN 9780224093613.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn. [Complete number line 2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1.] FINE/FINE.No owner inscrptn and no price-clip to dw/dj.Bright,crisp,clean, matt,wrap-around black background with colour pictorial,art deco-esque illustrated dw/dj,with capitalised,taupe shadowed,glossy,embossed white-lettered part-title,sub-title in capitalised orange lettering and capitalised, glossy,embossed,orange-lettered author name; spine/backstrip with similarly but flat printed, glossy coloured+lettered author+title as front and publisher's thumbnail capitalised,white lettered+illustrated colophon to foot of same, rear panel with 4 critics' orange+white-lettered reviews.Negligible shelf-wear,bumping,creasing to edges and corners – no nicks,tears or splits present.Top+fore-edges lightly toned but still clean without any foxing/spotting; contents bright,tight,clean,solid and sound - virtually pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corner tips,appears unread,other than my own collation.Publisher's bright,crisp,clean, sharp-cornered,original plain black cloth boards with bright,crisp,blocked silver gilt lettered spine/backstrip,and immaculate plain black endpapers.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,3-286pp [paginated] includes the story/novel; plus [unpaginated] half-title+title pages,a dedication,an epigram (a prose extract from Joseph Conrad,'Youth),a title separator page - the latter three named,each with a blank verso, and to the rear,Author's Note with blank verso, Acknowledgements and Credits with Thanks to its reverse,and 2pp blanks. Visually the exterior appearance is exceptional,and particularly internally,the book is also in an exceptional condition/state of preservation and presentation.It is only the exterior toning described that prevents a slightly overall higher grading.Despite that,it really is still an exceptional,exemplary copy for its cleanliness,brightness and lack of other detracting faults.Certainly a welcome addition to the Ondaatje canon.                            In the early 1950s, an 11-year-old boy in Colombo boards a ship bound for England. At mealtimes he is seated at the “cat’s table”—as far from the Captain’s Table as can be—with a ragtag group of “insignificant” adults and two other boys, Cassius and Ramadhin. As the ship makes its way across the Indian Ocean, through the Suez Canal, into the Mediterranean, the boys tumble from one adventure to another, bursting all over the place like freed mercury. But there are other diversions as well: One man talks with them about jazz and women, another opens the door to the world of literature. The narrator’s elusive, beautiful cousin Emily becomes his confidante, allowing him to see himself “with a distant eye” for the first time, and to feel the first stirring of desire. Another cat’s table denizen, the shadowy Miss Lasqueti, is perhaps more than what she seems. And very late every night, the boys spy on a shackled prisoner, his crime and his fate a galvanizing mystery that will haunt them forever.  As the narrative moves between the decks and holds of the ship and the boy’s adult years, it tells a spellbinding story—by turns poignant and electrifying—about the magical, often forbidden discoveries of childhood and a lifelong journey that begins unexpectedly with a spectacular sea voyage,When all on board were 'freeof the realities of the earth'.                          With the ocean liner a brillaint microcsm for the floating dream of childhood,'The Cat's Table' is a vivid,poignant and thrilling book,full of Ondaatje's trademark set-pieces and breathtaking images: a story told with a child's sense of wonder by a novelist at the very height of his powers. Please contact seller,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page!          N.B. ALL buyers please note,that stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard US AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of any inexpensive book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always. **  

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.
Not SIGNED.