Varjak Paw

"Varjak Paw" (2003) is a children's novel by S. F. Said and illustrated by Dave McKean. The illustrations in this book greatly resemble gothic forms of art.

Plot summary

Varjak Paw is a small Mesopotamian Blue kitten who lives with his family in the Contessa's house on the hill. When a large gentlemen and two mysterious black cats enter the house, Varjak and his grandfather, Elder Paw, know something is wrong. The family is split apart, leaving Varjak to embark on a quest to the city for help. Using a form of secret cat martial arts called "The Way of Jalal," handed down from his ancestor, the kitten must make his way through the city and overcome obstacles such as angry dogs, gangs of cats, and the mysterious "Vanishings."

Varjak, whose amber eyes shun him from his family (as the color of danger), listens to his grandfather's tales of the Outside. His older brother Julius constantly bullies him. None of his family care to venture into the outside world, for they are happy and contented inside, being fed by the old woman known as the Contessa. One day, a Gentleman appears inside the house with two black cats acting in synchronized motions. The Contessa had died. He seems to take care of the cats, but when Varjak and his grandfather venture outside and his grandfather tells him stories of the mysterious Jalal the Paw, the Gentleman's two black cats kill him. Varjak runs away into the city, where he meets a black and white cat Holly and her best friend, a brown cat named Tam. Varjak learns of the Vanishings, the mysterious disappearances of cats off the streets. He travels with Holly and Tam. In his dreams he is visited by the strange Jalal the Paw, who teaches him of the Way, a lost form of cat martial arts. Varjak runs into a cat gang, Ginger's gang. He is immediately beaten up. When he travels into the evil Sally Bones' territory, he learns of the villain and a bit about the Way. The fight between him and the fierce tabby Razor is interuppted by a dog, Cludge. Cludge knocks Varjak out, but wakes up to find that the dog meant no harm, and is even friendly. He befriends Cludge. Tam disappears and Varjak finds a grotesque toy cat inside a cardboard box, but it has every aspect of a real cat. He and Holly go back to his house, and his family wants Varjak to stay, but soon after Holly gets captured by the Gentleman. Varjak goes upstairs, where he finds dozens of cats inside a large cage, trapped by the Gentleman and his creepy cats. It is found that the Gentleman is taking them into a room and killing them to make toys out of them, although the methods of doing so have never been found (they come back out with glassy fake eyes and collars, with the sound boxes and mechanical movements of a doll, although they look and smell exactly like real cats). Varjak kills one of the black cats by snipping off its collar, the source of the Gentleman's power, and the other falls. The Gentleman is about to kill Varjak when Cludge reappears, scaring him off. Varjak is named a hero but decides to live on the streets.

Characters

*Varjak Paw, a young kitten and the main protagonist of the story
*Jalal, Varjak's ancestor and a great warrior that teaches Varjak "The Way"
*Holly, a friend whom Varjak meets Outside
*Tam, Holly's good friend who is constantly preoccupied with food
*Elder Paw, Varjak's grandfather and one of the few who remembers The Way of Jalal
*Sally Bones, the mysterious white cat who lords over the West Side
*Ginger, the ruler of the East Side
*The Contessa, the old woman who owns Varjak's home
*The Gentleman, a mysterious man who appears one day at the Contessa's house
*The Black Cats, two pure black cats that accompany The Gentleman everywhere. They also kill Elder Paw.S. F. Said is not known to have commented in the similarities between the names of the book's characters and those in the film "Breakfast at Tiffany's".

Film

In March 2006, The Jim Henson Company announced plans to adapt the book as an animated feature film. The book's illustrator Dave McKean will direct. [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002155554]

Theatre

In September 2007, Playbox Theatre Company took on SF Said's Varjak Paw, in a major multi-media production. For further information visit. http://www.playboxtheatre.com

Opera

In 2008, composer [http://www.editionpeters.com/php/artist_details.php?artist=PHILIPS&section=composer Julian Philips] completed an opera on Varjak Paw, to a libretto by Kit Hesketh-Harvey, to be performed by [http://www.theoperagroup.co.uk/productions/more/varjak_paw/ The Opera Group] in September-November.

ee also

*
*The Outlaw Varjak Paw

External links

* [http://www.varjakpaw.com/ Official site]