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The Zanzibar Cat
The Zanzibar Cat is a feminist science fiction collection of short stories by Joanna Russ, first published in 1983 by Arkham House. It was the author's first collection of short fiction and was published in an edition of 3,526 copies. The story, "When It Changed", won a Nebula Award in 1972. "Old Thoughts, Old Balances" won a 1977 O. Henry Prize under the title "The Autobiography of My Mother".
244 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 1983
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343 people want to read
About the author
Joanna Russ
187 books497 followersJoanna Russ (February 22, 1937 – April 29, 2011) was an American writer, academic and feminist. She is the author of a number of works of science fiction, fantasy and feminist literary criticism such as How to Suppress Women's Writing, as well as a contemporary novel, On Strike Against God, and one children's book, Kittatinny. She is best known for The Female Man, a novel combining utopian fiction and satire. [Wikipedia]
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
August 22, 2012
Like any anthology, there are some stories that stand out, both good and not so good. To me, though, it's worth getting if only for one story: "When It Changed." I've been reading science-fiction -- please don't use that repellent term "sci-fi" (which, as Harlan Ellison says should be pronounced "Skiffy") -- since the early 60s, and firmly rank the story in my all-time top ten short stories.
Think about it: I've been reading sf for about fifty years, so that's the top ten out of one helluva lot of stories. And, even though the ending is less than positive, promising a potentially bleak future for the women of Whileaway, the opening line, "Katy drives like a maniac," always brings a smile to my face.
The title of the story is appropriate for me in two ways: It "changed" how I thought about science-fiction and its potential to call attention to social ills, and it "changed" how I thought about the way women were treated, not just in the genre I'd been reading for a decade, but in the world, in society as a whole. I'd been a liberal thinker for as long as I could remember, but women's issues had never been something I seriously thought about. I think two passages caused that change in my thinking.
First:
"Where are all the people?" said the monomaniac.
I realized then that he did not mean people. he meant men..."
and the last line, "Take my life, but don't take away the meaning of my life."
To me, they're still as powerful as they were when I first read them nearly four decades ago. I still read the story from time to time just in case I need a reminder.
Think about it: I've been reading sf for about fifty years, so that's the top ten out of one helluva lot of stories. And, even though the ending is less than positive, promising a potentially bleak future for the women of Whileaway, the opening line, "Katy drives like a maniac," always brings a smile to my face.
The title of the story is appropriate for me in two ways: It "changed" how I thought about science-fiction and its potential to call attention to social ills, and it "changed" how I thought about the way women were treated, not just in the genre I'd been reading for a decade, but in the world, in society as a whole. I'd been a liberal thinker for as long as I could remember, but women's issues had never been something I seriously thought about. I think two passages caused that change in my thinking.
First:
"Where are all the people?" said the monomaniac.
I realized then that he did not mean people. he meant men..."
and the last line, "Take my life, but don't take away the meaning of my life."
To me, they're still as powerful as they were when I first read them nearly four decades ago. I still read the story from time to time just in case I need a reminder.
January 24, 2020
Short stories. Very different from each other, as if from different authors. Some very good. Some simple, but some experimental and hard to understand.
There are two editions, a 1983 Hardback from Arkham House and a 1984 paperback from Baen. The contents of the two editions are not identical.
These stories are in both editions:
When It Changed (1972)
Takes place in the same world as The Female Man, but is easier to understand. Basically a riff on the idea of men visiting an all-female planet (such as in ) but told from the women's point of view. (By the way, "The Female Man" was written in 1971, though published in 1975. So it may have been written before this story.)
The Extraordinary Voyages of Amélie Bertrand (1979)
An homage to Jules Verne. Basically a portal fantasy with a strong female character, which is not the sort of thing Verne wrote.
The Soul of a Servant (1973)
A man resists being rescued from his life of servitude, even though likely to be condemned to death.
Gleepsite (1971)
Something something something about imagination. I don't get it.
Nobody's Home (1972)
In the future everybody is super-intelligent, except this one woman who is merely very intelligent. Poor thing! What can we do with her?
My Dear Emily (1962)
Basically Dracula, but in old San Francisco, and told from the female victim's point of view.
The New Men (1966)
A Russian traveling in Poland in the future year of 1985 survives a night with a vampire.
My Boat (1976)
Fantasy story about a young girl who is not what she seems to be. Links to the Cthulhu mythos.
Useful Phrases for the Tourist (1972)
Example phrases for use in High Lokrinnen. At the hotel you may use:
Most importantly: "Take me to the Earth Consulate Immediately."
Corruption (1976)
A guy infiltrates a weird outpost with the intention of blowing it up. After 20 years there, it really changes his thinking.
There Is Another Shore, You Know, upon the Other Side (1963)
Another vampire (or ghost?) story. This one in Rome with a female vampire.
A Game of Vlet (1974)
A chess-like game on a magical board.
The Zanzibar Cat (1971)
A story set in Lud-in-the-Mist. Yawn.
The following are only in the Arkham House edition:
How Dorothy Kept Away the Spring.
A fantasy story. Me not understand.
Poor Man, Beggar Man
Alexander the Great is greatly bothered by the ghost of his fiend Cleitus, whom he had killed while drunk. Lovely story, but a note at the end reveals she knows the facts and the personality she gives to Alexander are historically inaccurate.
Old Thoughts, Old Presences
Confusing experimental feminist story contrasting the "fatherland" and "my mother's country". The fatherland section is pornographic and disturbing. The mother section is just weird: she speaks of herself as a 35-year old raising her own 2-year-old mother. (Possibly some personal family stuff worked into this one.)
Arkham House edition also has a Foreward by Marge Piercy and drawings by Dennis Neal Smith.
The following are only in the Baen edition which I haven't read:
Dragons and Dimwits (1979)
Full title: "Dragons and Dimwits or There and Back Again: A Publishers' Holiday or Why Did I Do It? or Much Ado About Magic or Lord of the Royalties or ... or ... or ... "
Now I really want to read that!
The Precious Object (1970)
The Man Who Could Not See Devils (1970)
There are two editions, a 1983 Hardback from Arkham House and a 1984 paperback from Baen. The contents of the two editions are not identical.
These stories are in both editions:
When It Changed (1972)
Takes place in the same world as The Female Man, but is easier to understand. Basically a riff on the idea of men visiting an all-female planet (such as in ) but told from the women's point of view. (By the way, "The Female Man" was written in 1971, though published in 1975. So it may have been written before this story.)
The Extraordinary Voyages of Amélie Bertrand (1979)
An homage to Jules Verne. Basically a portal fantasy with a strong female character, which is not the sort of thing Verne wrote.
The Soul of a Servant (1973)
A man resists being rescued from his life of servitude, even though likely to be condemned to death.
Gleepsite (1971)
Something something something about imagination. I don't get it.
Nobody's Home (1972)
In the future everybody is super-intelligent, except this one woman who is merely very intelligent. Poor thing! What can we do with her?
My Dear Emily (1962)
Basically Dracula, but in old San Francisco, and told from the female victim's point of view.
The New Men (1966)
A Russian traveling in Poland in the future year of 1985 survives a night with a vampire.
My Boat (1976)
Fantasy story about a young girl who is not what she seems to be. Links to the Cthulhu mythos.
Useful Phrases for the Tourist (1972)
Example phrases for use in High Lokrinnen. At the hotel you may use:
This is my companion. It is not intended as a tip.
I will call the manager.
This cannot be my room because I cannot breathe ammonia.
I will be most comfortable between temperatures of 290 and 303 degrees Kelvin.
Waitress, this meal is still alive.
Most importantly: "Take me to the Earth Consulate Immediately."
Corruption (1976)
A guy infiltrates a weird outpost with the intention of blowing it up. After 20 years there, it really changes his thinking.
There Is Another Shore, You Know, upon the Other Side (1963)
Another vampire (or ghost?) story. This one in Rome with a female vampire.
A Game of Vlet (1974)
A chess-like game on a magical board.
The Zanzibar Cat (1971)
A story set in Lud-in-the-Mist. Yawn.
The following are only in the Arkham House edition:
How Dorothy Kept Away the Spring.
A fantasy story. Me not understand.
Poor Man, Beggar Man
Alexander the Great is greatly bothered by the ghost of his fiend Cleitus, whom he had killed while drunk. Lovely story, but a note at the end reveals she knows the facts and the personality she gives to Alexander are historically inaccurate.
Old Thoughts, Old Presences
Confusing experimental feminist story contrasting the "fatherland" and "my mother's country". The fatherland section is pornographic and disturbing. The mother section is just weird: she speaks of herself as a 35-year old raising her own 2-year-old mother. (Possibly some personal family stuff worked into this one.)
Arkham House edition also has a Foreward by Marge Piercy and drawings by Dennis Neal Smith.
The following are only in the Baen edition which I haven't read:
Dragons and Dimwits (1979)
Full title: "Dragons and Dimwits or There and Back Again: A Publishers' Holiday or Why Did I Do It? or Much Ado About Magic or Lord of the Royalties or ... or ... or ... "
Now I really want to read that!
The Precious Object (1970)
The Man Who Could Not See Devils (1970)
July 8, 2020
Read very long ago. I'll refer you to Ed Erwin's review for details. My rating is really just a guess at this distance. As is date read. I don't think I ever owned a copy?
The Key story, and the one I remember really well 50 years on, is "When it Changed" (1972), first published in Again Dangerous Visions:
http://future-lives.com/wp-content/up...
You should read it, and I need to re-read it. Her greatest story?
Wonderful cover, by James Gurney, the Dinotopia artist! http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?1829
http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/images/8/8a...
The Key story, and the one I remember really well 50 years on, is "When it Changed" (1972), first published in Again Dangerous Visions:
http://future-lives.com/wp-content/up...
You should read it, and I need to re-read it. Her greatest story?
Wonderful cover, by James Gurney, the Dinotopia artist! http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?1829
http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/images/8/8a...
June 17, 2014
The first two stories in this collection are great. "When It Changed" is the classic SF trope of astronauts (male) arriving on the planet of the Amazons, inverted because it is from the point of view of the Amazons, and their response is a resounding, "The hell?" It's touchingly told and nuanced. The second story, "The Extraordinary Voyages of Amelie Bertrand" is a send-up of old Jules Verne style prose, though of course more quickly paced, and is a delightful romp centered on a space/time rift that opens in a train station hallway every day just before three.
"Wow," I thought. "I really like this. I guess Joanna Russ is a better short story writer than a novelist. I bet this'll be a four-star review."
Then I read the other fourteen stories and found them to be... meh. Some moments of humor and interest, lots of muddy plots, lots of inexplicable magic that changes the story at the end (my least favorite kind). Some stories I felt like I was just missing the point, like she'd forgotten to put a few paragraphs down here and there joining the parts of the story together. One was a stream-of-consciousness memoir piece. Two mediocre but not terrible vampire stories. One bland ghost story that had some sweet moments to it. The very last story, the title story, which should presumably have been a strong one since she named the collection after it, was quite arguably the worst of the lot. It, and the other 'epic fantasy' piece in the collection, "Dragons and Dimwits" seems to be more about the author disliking epic fantasy and calling up its silliest tropes in quick succession than anything else.
So... rather uneven.
"Wow," I thought. "I really like this. I guess Joanna Russ is a better short story writer than a novelist. I bet this'll be a four-star review."
Then I read the other fourteen stories and found them to be... meh. Some moments of humor and interest, lots of muddy plots, lots of inexplicable magic that changes the story at the end (my least favorite kind). Some stories I felt like I was just missing the point, like she'd forgotten to put a few paragraphs down here and there joining the parts of the story together. One was a stream-of-consciousness memoir piece. Two mediocre but not terrible vampire stories. One bland ghost story that had some sweet moments to it. The very last story, the title story, which should presumably have been a strong one since she named the collection after it, was quite arguably the worst of the lot. It, and the other 'epic fantasy' piece in the collection, "Dragons and Dimwits" seems to be more about the author disliking epic fantasy and calling up its silliest tropes in quick succession than anything else.
So... rather uneven.
February 12, 2022
I only read two stories but they were excellent. "When it Changed" I think is a spinoff of The Female Man, Russ' most famous book. And its an interesting idea about diplomacy and male and female relations. "Useful Phrases for the Tourist" was mostly a multipage joke but appealed to my linguistics background. Similar to the Wicked series of phrasebooks but with an SF twist. These stories are more straight forward reading than some others of hers I have read. I do not have time for this right now but I will probably return to it if these two stories are typical. I collect Russ books because she is an important SF writer whose books, since her death, I have a hard time finding in stores. So I have about four now.
December 1, 2023
I’ve struggled with this book! After loving the first story of only eight pages, called “When It Changed” I tried repeatedly to read the others, but found weird, dreamlike fantasies, vampires, and ghosts. I finished through scanning as often as reading. Kept hoping I was missing another story as good as the first, but not to my taste.
January 2, 2011
An odd blend of science fiction, fantasy, and feminism, there's an ambiguity to these stories that will either frustrate or enchant, depending on personal taste. I tend to enjoy such frustration, hence my rating.
October 24, 2024
This was my third time reading 'When it Changed' and I still adore it. I won't say any more -- more elegant critics than I have said much more than I could ever say. As for the collection as a whole, the majority of these stories are not science fiction. Russ includes fairy tales, horror stories, magical realism, and some stories that defy easy classification. Her style is very idiosyncratic, and the more idiosyncratic she gets the better she is. I watched some of these stories fly right over my head. I felt affectionately for the melancholy 'My Boat', but I didn't love it as a whole. 'Old Thoughts, Old Presences' is the sort of all-cylinders work here. It is also the most compelling and nuanced of several overtly feminist pieces here. Setting aside 'When it Changed', nothing here touches Russ's wonderful The Female Man. I delight in the fact that some of Russ's content is still edgy enough to ruffle feathers. In a way she is very of-her-time, but the collective we still haven't caught up, of course, in the same way we haven't caught up to the best of her buddies Delany and Disch.
March 22, 2017
A collection of short stories, most of them posted in the 1970s. Unfortunately this ebook version seemed to be an unedited scan of the paperback version, which is where all my issues with it came from.
The first story, When It Changed, was pretty darned good and I enjoyed it a lot. It was set on some other planet where humans went to colonize, then generations ago a plague killed off all the men. The women were able to survive, and through skill and technology, keep the human race going there. Then men showed up. Though written in the 1972, it felt WAY WAY WAY too current to today. It left me disturbed and sad.
Unfortunately the book went downhill from there. Not the writing, I can't comment on that, but the "editing"/scanning. Words and sentences (and paragraphs?) were dropped at random, there were tons of misspellings and "typos" (scanning issues), and sentences were littered with odd control characters.
I powered through the second story (about time travel), it seemed interesting but the missing sentences/sections made it hard to follow.
The third story had even more formatting/scanning issues, and was basically unreadable. Unfortunately I gave up on the book at that point.
If I could still read paper books, I'd be willing to hunt down a physical copy so I could read the rest of the stories, but my eyes wouldn't forgive me if I tried.
The first story, When It Changed, was pretty darned good and I enjoyed it a lot. It was set on some other planet where humans went to colonize, then generations ago a plague killed off all the men. The women were able to survive, and through skill and technology, keep the human race going there. Then men showed up. Though written in the 1972, it felt WAY WAY WAY too current to today. It left me disturbed and sad.
Unfortunately the book went downhill from there. Not the writing, I can't comment on that, but the "editing"/scanning. Words and sentences (and paragraphs?) were dropped at random, there were tons of misspellings and "typos" (scanning issues), and sentences were littered with odd control characters.
I powered through the second story (about time travel), it seemed interesting but the missing sentences/sections made it hard to follow.
The third story had even more formatting/scanning issues, and was basically unreadable. Unfortunately I gave up on the book at that point.
If I could still read paper books, I'd be willing to hunt down a physical copy so I could read the rest of the stories, but my eyes wouldn't forgive me if I tried.
May 30, 2019
Joanna Russ - My Dear Emily
With Stoker vampirism retained its folkloric role as parasitic pestilence. Today it is more a funhouse version of bourgeois narcissism and sociopathic individualism of the Ayn Rand variety.
Russ gives the reader the transformation into vampirism as a variety of Hell's harrowing-up of the soul. The woman hungering for autonomy finds in it another set of shackles.
It is a pleasure, though, to read this particular treatment of the vampire subject; in 1971 she wrote the essay "The Wearing Out of Genre Materials." "My Dear Emily" shows how she solved that problem for herself as a writer circa 1962.
With Stoker vampirism retained its folkloric role as parasitic pestilence. Today it is more a funhouse version of bourgeois narcissism and sociopathic individualism of the Ayn Rand variety.
Russ gives the reader the transformation into vampirism as a variety of Hell's harrowing-up of the soul. The woman hungering for autonomy finds in it another set of shackles.
It is a pleasure, though, to read this particular treatment of the vampire subject; in 1971 she wrote the essay "The Wearing Out of Genre Materials." "My Dear Emily" shows how she solved that problem for herself as a writer circa 1962.
Read
March 15, 2021Thank you for. GR reviewer Ed Erwin, for the details of the ToC of the two editions. I read the Arkham hardcover from my son's university library. I can finally say that I've made a sufficient attempt to appreciate Russ. I still don't, really. Literary speculative fiction, often experimental in style, often stomach churning, often misanthropic and even sometimes misogynist (!). Not really science fiction, but couldn't call it fantasy either. Not for me, and would not have been for young me even when it was new and I was of an age to read it.
September 22, 2019
The book, 2 stars, the story "The Extraordinary Voyages of Amèlie Bertrand," 3 stars.
March 14, 2020
довольно странные рассказы, рекомендовать никому не могу, но "моя ладья" очень понравился
April 12, 2023
Possibly the best way to experience Russ is via her short fiction. This or an anthology of her Alyx stories are a good way to go.
March 25, 2024
I did not see the point. Nevertheless, I shall persevere with Russ.
January 7, 2026
This is an interesting read. I can't say I love her writing style. However, the stories were interesting, some better than others.
June 24, 2016
A fine compilation of Joanna Russ writing. Some of them are humorous, some are sad, some horrors, many sci-fi and all are some sort of fantasy. There are a few that are more elusive than parts of The Female Man, and true to her voice there is probably more symbology to be found than I could begin to imagine.
I find that she explores the discovery of self; and maybe not quite ties it to the discovery of love so much as the search for acceptance - whether of self or for self. A few of her reflections on family and nurture (vs. nature) really touched me personally. The evolution of a father in the eyes of a daughter, and the same for the mother in more stories than one, really hits home. Many stories touch on the power dynamic between genders, between us and nature, or time, or each other.
It's a great book of writings that reflect on many topics, and for me the more I reflect on them, the more I get out of them.
I find that she explores the discovery of self; and maybe not quite ties it to the discovery of love so much as the search for acceptance - whether of self or for self. A few of her reflections on family and nurture (vs. nature) really touched me personally. The evolution of a father in the eyes of a daughter, and the same for the mother in more stories than one, really hits home. Many stories touch on the power dynamic between genders, between us and nature, or time, or each other.
It's a great book of writings that reflect on many topics, and for me the more I reflect on them, the more I get out of them.
November 24, 2008
Collection of short stories.
January 24, 2010
Collection of which I am deeply fond, in particular, "Phrases for Tourists" and "A Game of Vlet.:
April 24, 2011
I didn't read every short story in here because some of them immediately exceeded my weird prose tolerance level. But it was still pretty good and the cover is bitchin!
June 23, 2011
I had to take this back to the library about 2/3 done, but I liked it quite a lot. The stories here are all so different, it's almost surprising to realize they have the same author.
Want to read
June 8, 2012Had my copy for awhile and still haven't read it but I love the cover. That is one cool cat!
November 17, 2017
A collection of wonderful and just plain weird stories
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews