Review: One Kitten's Struggle for Survival
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 10, 2014
Alex the Cat is the story of one kitten’s struggle for survival on the open streets in a town somewhere in Korea.  Alex is born to two loving, doting parents who are continuously trying to stave off the pangs of hunger and stay alive by scavenging for scraps from the city’s waste bins.  In Korea, as we all know, there are multitudes of abandoned and homeless cats and the competition for food is fierce.Finding himself unexpectedly alone, Alex soon realises there is no-one out there he can trust, save one other small kitten.  And even that relationship is short-lived.  Life is punishing.  Food is hard to come by; the other feral cats are vicious and highly territorial, and the humans are callous and brutal.Seen through Alex’s eyes,  the story runs full circle from a family life of unconditional love coupled with feelings of complete safety, to sadness, cruelty, rivalry, fear, disappointment, and finally back to another form of kindness and security again.  Then, just as Alex has finally learned to trust humans, another sort of competition arises prompting Alex to make a life-changing decision.  And, he’s only nine months old.The thing that struck me first about Alex the Cat, as is so often the case, was the fabulous, evocative art work on the cover.  Great use of colours and textures!  The story itself is well-written, and the scenes, like the characters, are well-described. Though this is not a book to read if you are overly-sensitive about the fate of stray cats.  The scenes depicted are sometimes distressing and a little too realistic.  For those reasons, I do not feel it is suitable for very young children.At the same time, this book is enjoyable.  Although highly emotive, it puts across the point well that cats, like us, are sentient beings which suffer from pain, are capable of experiencing emotions (including the ability to mourn for a lost parent), and can build relationships.  It also highlights the plight of unwanted cats in Korea.I was moved by this book and felt the author, Dina Porell, must have experienced a lot of this sort of unmitigated cruelty to animals first hand.  Spreading awareness of this amongst young people, by way of a story, does Ms Porell credit.  It is not your average feel-good ending, but it is good, and Alex’s altruistic  thoughts (though I doubt any cat, in reality, would think this way) would put most humans to shame.  A great story!This review is also published at Mungai and the Goa Constrictor [...]