I've been waffling as to whether to classify this piece as a C-pad column or an "official" Reviews-page review. Hmmm.... Ah, heck, let's do things this way - if anybody else sends me a "review" of The Cat Who... Companion (and, as always, I implore you to do so), I'll put it up on the Reviews page along with a "review" link to here. Onward...
For those of you who have to mail- or special-order the book and would like a better idea of exactly what you're buying, here's a rundown of the contents:
As you've probably gathered from the description, this is an exhaustive work of research - I can only imagine how long this took Ms. Feaster to compile. Just the "Cast of Characters" section - which not only lists *everyone* who's *ever* appeared in the series but, when applicable, jots down what we know about their physical appearance, a boon in a series whose author herself admits she has to go back through notes to remind herself of the scarce clues she's given to her cast members' physical traits - would merit the purchase alone. And, judging from the topics - Qwill's gals and former residences, the cats' eating habits, etc. - she has chosen to encyclopedia-ize, Ms. Feaster surely seems to know what aspects of Braun's universe most interest Cat Who... fans. Moreover, Feaster has obtained two treasures that might prove more valuable still - the aforementioned maps of Pickax and Moose County and the interview with Braun, in which we get to learn precious tidbits of Lilian's past (did you know she once worked as a baseball writer for The Sporting News when she was sixteen?).
I do have two issues with the book. The first is that I wish everything wasn't so religiously segregated by book title; there are a few categories, like "The Women in Qwill's Life" and "A Companion's Guide to Dining", that could have benefitted from more appropriate methods of categorization. The second issue is that, in some cases, the synopses in the "Crimes and Clues" section could've been written better and more clearly. In encapsulating certain books (such in Backwards and Brahms), important subplots are omitted entirely, and clues that turn out to be red herrings aren't always explained to be such, and so the characters' motives and the story's deductive process are thus often muddled (and produce the curious effect of making the brilliant Backwards look stultifyingly straightforward and the lackluster Sang for the Birds seem a wickedly dubious mystery).
But, as I said, these flaws in the execution of the work don't inflict mortal damage upon the whole. The Cat Who... Companion is a fine resource for Braun fans.
Note: A second edition of the Companion (with a deep orange cover, as opposed to the original's green cover) was released on November 15th, 1999 stateside. The upgrades include an updating of all the encyclopedia-ish sections for Saw Stars compliance, a small list of quotations selected by Feaster, and a new quiz. The book remains a nice buy for Cat Who... fans, but if you already have the first edition, there's no need to jump for the new version unless you were extraordinarily perplexed by Saw Stars (and if you were - and you're hardly alone in that respect - I doubt your confusion stemmed primarily from being unable to keep places and personnel straight.).
Note upon on note: A third edition of the Companion (with a light yellow cover and different artwork from the previous two editions) was released in the U.S. in September of 2002. This update builds on the previous one with another new quiz, what appears to be an updated map, and the addition of new encyclopedia entries through Went up the Creek. Most remarkable, however, is the expanded interview, doubled in size from previous editions (from ten pages to twenty) and full of quite interesting facts - it's nothing short of amazing how many events in the books (the Big Burning raido play, the Casablanca affair) are based directly upon things LJB and her husband Earl have seen or did, and the third edition is worth a look on its merits alone.
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