Book Review: Return Of The Solar Cat

The Return Of The Solar Cat by Jim Augustyn. Patty Paw Press. 96 pages.


Unlikely comparisons can inspire great books - The Prince and the Pauper, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - but the idea of comparing cats to solar panels seems more off-the-wall than most. But both use sunlight to draw power, and spend a lot of time sitting around doing nothing.

When Jim Augustyn realized that cats were harnessing the sun's energy, he found the theme for The Solar Cat Book, which he updated for the ecoconsciuous new century.

When the book was first published in 1979, the search for alternative sources of energy had reached fever pitch. Augustyn used his animal analogy to put the whole debate in perspective, using humor to trace the intricacies of renewable energy.

Now the book's back, with more cartoons and perfect puns to delight cat lovers. Look beyond the illustrations and you'll find a no-nonsense breakdown of solar power's benefits. Refreshingly, Augustyn grants his readers intelligence and common sense; he doesn't feel bound to convince us that nuclear power is becoming redundant. Instead we gets facts, mixed with a little cat fancy.

Here's the only area in which the author stumbles. Most of the juxtapositions are obvious (for example, active and lazy cats compared with active and passive solar panels). But the insertion of gags into some of the more complex information can cause confusion (di-meowium oxide, anyone?).

Some of the sketches are 30 years old and benefit from art's cyclical tastes; others have been touched up to fit the updated text. With a dual target market - cat lovers and green supporters - this book is well written and amusing enough to deserve a wider readership.

- Nick Smith