The Pharaoh's Cat by Maria Luisa Lang

The Pharaoh's Cat by Maria Luisa Lang
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 182

Publisher - Self published

Blurb from Goodreads

The Pharaoh’s Cat, a tragicomic fantasy narrated in the present tense by the cat himself, tells of a free-spirited, wise-cracking stray in ancient Egypt who suddenly acquires human powers and immediately captivates the young Pharaoh, making him laugh for the first time since his parents’ death.

The cat becomes the Pharaoh’s constant companion and, at the royal palace and on a tour of Egypt, participates in the festivities, developing an insatiable appetite for good food, wine, and gossip. Gradually, he renews the Pharaoh’s ability to enjoy life and inspires him to become a stronger leader. The bond of selfless love they share will change Egypt’s destiny.

The cat has a good friend in the High Priest of the god Amun-Ra and seeks his help in solving the mystery of his human powers and the supernatural manifestations that plague him. He has a mortal enemy in the Vizier—the second most powerful man in Egypt--who hates him for his close relationship with the Pharaoh. The Vizier’s persecution of the cat ultimately results in his fleeing with the High Priest to present-day New York City, where they find an ally in an Egyptologist’s daughter.



My Review

A wee stray cat in Egypt suddenly finds himself able to talk and stand upright, saved from a horrible fate by the Pharaoh whilst making an enemy. Wrappa-Hamen (the cat) is the protagonist, whilst meeting the Pharaoh changes his life he in turn enriches the Pharaoh's waking him from his grief and embracing life and his role. The Vizier, the second most powerful man next to the Pharaoh is not pleased with Wrappa-Hamen's influence and his arrival kick starts a deadly change of events.

I have had this on my review tbr for a long time, I wish I had read it sooner, the cat would steal the show even if he wasn't the main character. He is sassy, funny, witty and brings joy and chaos to the realm stirring everything up. The Vizier is not a nice man, he had the Pharaoh where he wanted him, almost like a puppet, with the arrival of Wrappa-Hamen everything changes and the Pharaoh comes into his own. The book is about actions, choices, consequences and lives lessons without being done in a preachy manner. There is also a lot about Egyptian history, I have always been interested in it but never really gotten around to reading much, I did find myself putting the book down to google some things & will read further hopefully soon.

A heart warming story that covers a lot of ground, snippets of history, magic, relationships, lies, love, friendship, persecution and even some time travel. This book won't be loved by all however I thought it was really well done. A sweet tale with some moral lessons and the kitty is a cheeky wee thing with some flare, I found myself laughing at some of his quips! 4/5 for me this time, there is another book with this character that I will bump up my list, not too sure how it will go with how well rounded this one was was but I look forward to reading it. Thanks so much to the author for bringing this to my attention it is a wee gem of a book particularly if you like cats and something a bit different.

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