Fifth Life of the CatWoman - by Kathleen Dexter (Paperback)

About the Book

"Kat O'Malley is living the nine lives of a cat and having a horrible time. After four hundred years on the wrong side of prejudice, intolerance, poverty and even witch hunts, all she really wants to do with her fifth life is hide out on a mirage with a bunch of cats. Everything is fine until a man wanders into Kat's mirage. When he hears her story, he convinces her to put her rotten experience to good use as a history teacher at a nearby school, where he's the headmaster. Skeptical at first, Kat takes him up on the offer. She lives a double-life, spending a few days a week teaching underdog history lessons that never made it into the books and then slipping back to her hidden oasis, hoping no one will follow. But one of her students does follow her, and when tragedy strikes, Kat is caught up in the nightmares of her past once again. She must ultimately decide whether to retreat forever into the safety of her cat-filled mirage or embrace the new life she's created as a teacher and storyteller"--

Book Synopsis

Kat O'Malley is living the nine lives of a cat and having a horrible time. After four hundred years on the wrong side of prejudice, intolerance, poverty and even witch hunts, all she really wants to do with her fifth life is hide out on a mirage with a bunch of cats.

Everything is fine until a man wanders into Kat's mirage. When he hears her story, he convinces her to put her rotten experience to good use as a history teacher at a nearby school, where he's the headmaster. Skeptical at first, Kat takes him up on the offer. She lives a double-life, spending a few days a week teaching underdog history lessons that never made it into the books and then slipping back to her hidden oasis, hoping no one will follow.

But one of her students does follow her, and when tragedy strikes, Kat is caught up in the nightmares of her past. She must ultimately decide whether to retreat forever into the safety of her cat-filled mirage or embrace the new life she's created as a teacher and storyteller.

Review Quotes

"Fantastical read [with a] miragelike quality ... It all works superbly well ... Complete and lovely." -Ron Chapman, NPR affiliate KUNM-FM

"Wonderful novel, told in a folkloric voice ... the conflict between [Kat's] personal past and the present makes the novel not only rich but also relevant to all readers." -Booklist

"Provocative ... The author considers the weight of intolerance as she teaches through allegory the realities of hunger, deprivation, fear, justice (and injustice), violence, poverty and many other calamities that befall humankind." -Books of the Southwest

"Captivating cross between fairytale and contemporary romance."-Kirkus Reviews

"Dexter's anthropomorphic world is highly visual ... A beautifully written story."-AudioFile

"A woman who lives with fifty cats in the midst of a desert mirage. A bit unlikely? You're likely to be charmed in spite of yourself ... Through a touching allegory, author Kathleen Dexter weaves a timeless tale about the importance of remaining invested in humanity and of passing along one's gifts to the next generation."-California Seniors

"Dexter softly beats the drum of social injustice while telling a tender story full of quiet humor and cat attitude." -Suburban Chicago News

"Written with a quirky and vivid sense of place ... New Mexico's magic landscape permeates Dexter's descriptions [in this] sweet little tale of courage and of taking chances." -The Santa Fe New Mexican

"Engaging story, memorable characters, and an almost poetic prose. Highly recommended." -Midwest Book Review

"Excellent."-New York Review of Fiction

"Dexter's premise holds that, if people had nine lives to live, as the CatWoman does, we might find ourselves on various sides of the fence in instances of conflict, discrimination and prejudice ... we might tend to live with greater care and compassion." -Book Talk

"A wonderful book by an accomplished writer ... Sleek prose and characters with engaging quirkiness." -Writer's Digest

"A tale so intriguingly crafted and flawlessly written that it might easily be considered a masterpiece." -East Mountain Telegraph

"A powerful allegory that looks at the dark side of humanity [and] implies that nine lives may not be enough to overcome the ferocious animosity that serves as man's basic reaction to anyone outside the norm."-Harriet Klausner

"Vividly imagined." -Jill Paton Walsh, author of Knowledge of Angels