The Cat Who Went Bananas
The Cat Who Went Bananas book cover

The Cat Who Went Bananas

by
Price
$9.87
Format
Hardcover
Pages
240
Publisher
Putnam
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-0399152245
Dimensions
5.82 x 1.19 x 8.88 inches
Weight
1.2 pounds

Description

From Publishers Weekly Bestseller Braun's formulaic 27th Cat Who... mystery (after 2004's The Cat Who Talked Turkey ) lacks the charm of earlier adventures starring Siamese sleuths Koko and Yum Yum. In Pickax City, "400 miles north of everywhere," Jim Qwilleran, the semiretired gentleman columnist for the Moose County Something , is content to court longtime gal pal Polly Duncan while overseeing his philanthropic Klingenschoen Fund, which is bankrolling the Pirate's Chest, a new bookstore built to replace an old landmark. The arrival of talented thespian Alden Wade, a handsome widower who's to play Jack Worthing in a local production of The Importance of Being Earnest , threatens to enliven the proceedings and add tension to Qwill and Polly's peculiar, passionless relationship, until Alden's sudden marriage to the local Hibbard House heiress. Preparations for the Wilde play's opening and references to the Hibbard House history that Qwill is writing don't have much to do with the unsolved murder of Alden's first wife via a sniper's bullet. Once noted for its fine style, great characterizations and clever cat crime-solving, this cozy series has become a shadow of its former self. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Booklist After 25 Cat Who adventures, do the plots matter anymore? Not really. In fact, compelling plots have never been the hallmark of this series. What keeps readers flocking back to Braun's books is her stellar cast of characters, led by the magnanimous Jim Qwilleran, former big-city journalist relocated to Moose County, and his feline partners, Koko and Yum Yum. This time Qwill's lady friend, Polly, has left her library job to open a bookstore, and her busy schedule is putting a severe crimp in the couple's social life. A handsome newcomer, Alden Wade, has come to town and is working for Polly, causing Qwill to do some jealous huffing into his glorious moustache. When Alden marries a well-off older lady, the locals suspect fortune hunting. Some of the mystery is never resolved, but it hardly matters. Faithful Braun readers feel right at home in Moose County, and its citizens--furry and otherwise--are just like family. Jenny McLarin Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Lilian Jackson Braun is the author of twenty-seven bestselling Cat Who . . . novels and three short-story collections. Read more

Features & Highlights

  • James Qwilleran and his talented team of feline sleuths, Koko and Yum Yum, investigate the supposedly accidental death of a cast member in a car crash on the eve of the Theatre Club's performance of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. 225,000 first printing.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
30%
(418)
★★★★
25%
(349)
★★★
15%
(209)
★★
7%
(98)
★
23%
(320)

Most Helpful Reviews

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If felt tighter but still lacked substance

I didn't feel that this book rambled on nearly so much as the last couple which just seemed to go on and on without going anywhere, and was actually relatively happy until the end which I found completely disappointing. I am ready for Qwill to finger a baddy again. It seems like it's been a while.

I agree with an earlier reviewer don't tease me about Celia. I think she's my favorite chraracter and we never hear from her anymore. And don't tease me about Polly and Qwill splitting up. Violet sounded great for Qwill. I was hoping we were finally going to get the end of the Queen of the Boring People, but alas no, on for one more :(.
41 people found this helpful
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Holy Cats!!!

I stopped reading the "Cat Who.." series a few years back because they were starting to annoy me. Same basic plot in every book.

I picked up several books at the library to take along on vacation this past week. "The Cat Who Went Bananas" was in the group.

My gosh! How awful this series has gotten. When I read the first one, in which Qwill adopts Koko and Yum-Yum, I was completely delighted. And kept being so for years. I did read somewhere that Ms. Braun took a few years break in the series before starting it up again. I'm not sure when that happened.

I didn't get very far in to "Bananas" before I tossed it aside as a lost cause and picked up something else to read. Thanks to all of you who clued me as to why. I never got to the non-ending. I believe I left Jim having dinner at some quaintly named restaurant with some even more quaintly named person. After reading today's reviews, I'm glad I didn't bother.

Then, I got to thinking. I'm 66 and remembered that Ms. Braun is many years older than I. Did a Google and found that she was born in 1916. Which would make her 89 at some point in this year of 2005. Now, I wonder if she's permanently retired and handed over the writing reins to someone else, suffered some debilitating disease which makes writing well (or even at all)impossible for her or if she died and it has been kept a secret from "Cat Who..." fans.I imagine it's one of those those choices.

Whatever the problem is, the greedy publishers are doing her and her past books no service or honor. Ms. Braun deserves better treatment.

One more thought. Years ago, I decided that Ms. Braun had fallen into the same trap that P. D. James, Martha Grimes and M. C. Beaton have done. They are in love with their heroes and too jealous to allow them to have a real love life, marry or have a family. How sad.

If any of you ever read the "Miss Seeton" series by Heron Carvic, you will surely relate it to "Cat Who...". After Carvic's death, the series was never as interesting nor as entertaining. Agatha Christie was a smart author who wrote an ending for Poirot. Nobody ever tried to fool the public that another writer could do just as well. Good for her. And her books have held up through the years.
22 people found this helpful
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Where's the rest of the book?

While this is definitly an improvement on its predecessor, it still does not meet the higher standard set by the earlier books.

The Good Stuff: It moves along quickly, easily, and jauntily, and while dealing with a lot of unrelated things, it is not as choppy as some of the previous installments have been. There is much more interaction between Qwill and Polly, and she has more dimension than she has been showing lately. Their relationship becomes a little more believable in the context of things. The more interesting/colorful of the Pickax denizens are visible both in context of the story and as background. For instance, the self-parody of "Eccentric Small Town in the Boondocks" laid on for the media for the benefit of the gullible living 'Down Below' was absolutly exquisite.

There is a charismatic new feline employee/mascot ( his status is not ascertained as yet) at the new bookstore who shows promise. Both a Literary Society and Theatre Arts school have been formed, giving the potential of some interesting stuff happening in subsequent books.

The Bad Stuff: More loose ends than a macrame owl. What happened to Kenneth/Whiskers? Is he even still alive? Did Alden kill Violet? Did he kill Kenneth's mother? How did he convince health fanatic Just-Say-No Ronnie to take those amphetamines? Is Alden REALLY dead, or did he and the dog use the confusion of the fire to disappear? Remember, we didn't see the body (and in a mystery we all know NEVER to write someone off as dead for sure until you see the body, right?). And whatever became of the kidnapped child? Who was the child's mother anyway...Violet's sister or aunt?

I also missed Qwill's Interview of some interesting character... the one where you actually learn about something...mushroom growing, turkey calls, scamadiddles, tarot cards, buttons, teddy bears.

I wondered if my copy was missing a few pages, seriously. And while one of the hallmarks of a good book is that you want it to go on after you are done reading it, I felt this book ended before the story was finished.
22 people found this helpful
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Very disappointing

There are bits and pieces that remind you of the great stories in this series, but they few and far between.

Other than the same main characters, and scenery, and an occasional reference to a character in a prior book, very little resembles the great "Cat Who..." books of the past.

It was very "Cat Who..." formula. But not "Cat Who..." quality. Koko knocks books off the shelf, but it is never clear why. We know the 'bad guy', Alden Wade moved to town, and a he is a womanizer and cad. Yet he is welcomed by all (even Qwill, although he has reservations). Everyone feels sorry for him because his wife was killed by a sniper's bullet, although the conditions were mysterious and the sniper was never caught.

He marries a woman 20 years older than he. Why would she marry him? She goes to her lawyer to change her will. But we never find out what changes happened. We only know that what Qwill feared, that she gave Alden her most cherished and valuable property, was NOT the change.

Alden's stepson is in town secretly watching him. He thinks Alden has something to do with his father's mysterious death, how convenient, since Alden then could marry his mother. Then her mysterious sniper death follows. But, just when we get interested in the stepson, he disappears, never to be heard from again. Qwill just accepts this! Why did he flee so fast? or did he meet with foul play?

The elderly woman Alden just married suddenly dies. Again, since she was ill, Qwill accepts this. The old Qwill wouldn't have.

Then the cherished property burns down the very next day. Alden rushed in to save the dog, but was not found, and he was presumed dead. This cad runs into a fire to save a dog? I think perhaps he feigned this as an escape. Had Qwill (or Koko) thought of this, he may have had a way to nail the bad guy, as Qwill used to do. But no..... he just accepts this.

Also in this story, Alden is linked to possibly killing a young actor by doping him, and the theft of a valuable item. Again Qwill doesn't follow up.

Bottom line, lots of story line threads left just dangling. The book just ends -- it seems like a chapter or two was left off the end!

Either Lilian has lost it, or we've lost Lilian and someone else is authoring these now.
21 people found this helpful
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I Give Up- This Series Has Lost It

I've grimly hung on through the last two or three Cat Who books hoping they would get better, but each one gets progressively worse. If there is a mystery in the book, it goes unsolved. We hear a lot about Qwill's mustache and Koko's whiskers but nothing substantial. The charm of the characters of Moose County has worn very thin.

In this book, it is almost as though the writer is attempting a stream of consciousness style of writing-- nothing holds together and everything just kind of rambles along until suddenly the book ends with no real sense of finality or resolution.

I think it is time to put these books to rest. I don't plan to read any more in the series- I need to at least have a plot to follow and an actual mystery to try to solve.
17 people found this helpful
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ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

After reading "TCW Talked Turkey", this one is actually a slight improvement, in areas, at least. However, there are still continuity errors (both within the book's storylines & in relation to previous books) and odd tacked-on bits in the chapters. However, those are pretty minor issues compared to what's REALLY wrong with this book... Examples: Are we supposed to hate Polly now? I mean, I never liked her before, but now I'm starting to wonder if we're supposed to want her to be the next murder victim. Qwill and she had an odd relationship to begin with, but now I really don't get it. And what happens to the potential rival for Qwill's affection? She gets married to someone else and then promptly DIES. And of the several mysteries in the story? Qwill does NO sleuthing, ignores Koko (who wasn't really helping much anyway) and the book ends abruptly with no explanations about deaths and disappearances. The things I loved about the TCW series are mere ghosts now... Koko & Yum Yum are all but ignored, the numerous characters are all written the same now (I challenge anyone to discern one from another!), and the cool sleuthing is replaced by yet more examples of Qwill throwing money and influence around like a mob boss. Qwill is the PERFECT model of a Roman Patron dispensing noblesse oblige to his lowly underlings. He used to be a funny guy, nice, witty, good at solving a mystery... now he's a jerk, and Polly needs to GO. I hope the next TCW has Qwill & Polly murdered and someone else adopts Koko and Yum Yum. PLEASE FIRE THE GHOSTWRITER!!!
16 people found this helpful
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Where Oh Where Has My Lillian Gone?

I wish I had read the reviews of this book before I purchased it instead of after. My excitement over another of the "Cat Who" books clouded my judgment. The last two chapters were reread thinking I had missed something...I had not! The reviews stated my reactions to a tee. When I read the reviews, I was hoping the chapters I felt that were missing, had been found by someone else!

Alas! Most of the reviewers echoed my sentiments. The Cat Who Talked Turkey was a little off, but I forgave Lillian. She has given us so many wonderful hours of reading and stories to think about that she was entitled to her one mistake.

But, I now ask...where has our wonderful Lillian Jackson Braun gone? Where has the great "Cat Who" series gone? Why did I spend the money on this book? Will I ever buy another "Cat Who" book? ...I think not!
13 people found this helpful
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The only mystery is.... can this series possibly get worse?

Why, oh why, do I keep on reading these! I have to chalk it up to sentiment, and perhaps the slim hope that a new ghostwriter will revive this once-charming series.

Simply put, this is a mess. There is the usual check-in with the mob of Pickax residents from earlier books, most of whom make brief and baffling appearances with little or no relation to the plot. The residents of this decidedly odd town - 400 miles north of reality - show up in droves for bookstore openings, stultifyingly dull lectures and amateur theatricals. (Thank god they seem to have given up eating pasties at every opportunity.)

The cats are little more than furniture these days, with Yum Yum barely making an appearance. Polly now manages a bookstore, but remains her snobby, charmless self. Qwill seems to have become the town errand boy, and, of course, pounds his mustache to a fare-thee-well.

The plot? It almost looked as though there would be one this time. But the reader is drawn in, only to be cruelly disappointed by an ending that lacks, well... an ending.

Go back and read the first three or four in the series, especially before Qwill moved to Pickax. They were certainly light reading, but the plots were intriguing, the writing was tighter and the books then deserved their Best Seller status.
12 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

The only mystery is.... can this series possibly get worse?

Why, oh why, do I keep on reading these! I have to chalk it up to sentiment, and perhaps the slim hope that a new ghostwriter will revive this once-charming series.

Simply put, this is a mess. There is the usual check-in with the mob of Pickax residents from earlier books, most of whom make brief and baffling appearances with little or no relation to the plot. The residents of this decidedly odd town - 400 miles north of reality - show up in droves for bookstore openings, stultifyingly dull lectures and amateur theatricals. (Thank god they seem to have given up eating pasties at every opportunity.)

The cats are little more than furniture these days, with Yum Yum barely making an appearance. Polly now manages a bookstore, but remains her snobby, charmless self. Qwill seems to have become the town errand boy, and, of course, pounds his mustache to a fare-thee-well.

The plot? It almost looked as though there would be one this time. But the reader is drawn in, only to be cruelly disappointed by an ending that lacks, well... an ending.

Go back and read the first three or four in the series, especially before Qwill moved to Pickax. They were certainly light reading, but the plots were intriguing, the writing was tighter and the books then deserved their Best Seller status.
12 people found this helpful
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Is Lilian even writing these anymore?

I'm highly suspicious, as has been mentioned in previous posts, that LBJ is even writing these anymore. They seem to get worse and worse. The Cat Who Went Bananas is the first book by LBJ that I haven't finished. It's also the last book by her that I'll read. Gone is the magicical interaction between Qwill, Koko and Yumm Yumm. I feel duped. Does anyone know if LBJ is even around anymore? Has anyone seen word of her doing book signings? I realize she is 89 this year (IF she's still around) but the pic on her books hasn't changed since the 60's. Something is up here folks, and I think we are being mislead by the publisher.
12 people found this helpful

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