This novel / fable is about journeys and poses the question; are humans in a perpetual and aimless state of wandering or must they always have a goal in mind. The book follows Muri, a cat who has a clear, if seemingly unachievable goal, to get back to his 'slaves', the family he lived with until the war broke out in Serbia and where he enjoyed his own blanket and an abundance of bowls of milk. Muri is an arrogant and selfish cat but he is purposeful. The book is dotted with other journeys; Jewish families also escaping the wars following the breakup of Yugoslavia and walking across the mountains to Austria and a lorry driver looking for his true home. There is a Sperm Whale who travels around and round the world, north to south and south to north with no goal in mind and an intelligent dog who has so many choices for journeys he can't decide which to take and so stays where he is. There is a young woman travelling home from University and her car breaks down and another young woman who decides to row across the Atlantic from her native France to America and no one can ascertain why she wants to do this.
The book is full of journeys in all their variety. It is beautifully told and a lovely read. ( )

Toen ik dit boek begon te lezen, was ik zelf onderweg met de veerboot van Borkum naar de Eemshaven. Een betere manier om dit kleine juweeltje te beginnen te lezen dan terwijl je zelf onderweg bent is er eigenlijk niet. Dat ik het boekje uitlas terwijl ik ziek in bed lag, daar moeten we het dan verder maar niet over hebben…

Lees verder op deze pagin van mijn boekenblog. ( )