Joann Sfar, Pantheon Books, 2005
This graphic novel, originally in French, is an unusual read. It looks like a children’s book, but it isn’t: it contains some definitely adult material and the themes are also intended for an older audience. Starting in Algiers in the 1930s, the book tells the story of an amiable widowed rabbi, his attractive (and badly behaved) daughter and his cat. The cat gains the ability to speak by eating a parrot and thereafter is the central character of the story. The cat, wanting to covert to Judaism, engages the rabbi in all manner of dialogue. This and the other events of the narrative (which include the rabbi’s daughter falling in love with a very ‘modern’ rabbi, cultural changes, and advancing modernity) enable the book to explore key religious and theological issues. These are clearly the actual objective of the author. The artwork is interesting, attractive, although not superb. Would make a good gift.
The Rabbi's Cat
