Suki:

by Suniti Namjoshi

In Suki, fabulist Suniti Namjoshi weaves a delightful tapestry from threads of longing, loss, memory, metaphor, and contemplation. The whole picture is a stunning evocation of the love and friendship shared between S and her Super Cat, Suki, a lilac Burmese. Suki suggests that she could be a goddess, and S her high priestess. S declines, but as they discuss the merits of vegetarianism, or the meaning of happiness, or morality, or just daily life, it soon becomes clear that the bond between them is a deep and complex one. The days of Suki’s life are figured as leaves, which fall vividly but irrevocably into time’s stream and are recollected with a wild tenderness by grieving S, who learns through the disciplines of meditation how to lose what is most loved.
This beautiful narrative, both memoir and elegy, offers solace and celebration to everyone who has felt the trust that passes between a person and a beloved creature.

Genres: Fiction

136 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Suniti Namjoshi is a poet, children's author, and teacher. She ran a collaborative fiction site in the late nineties called The Reader's Text of Building Babel. She lives in England with her partner Gillian Hanscombe.

Reviews

[Sudeepta Pradhan (booksteaandmore) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suki is a part memoir of the author Suniti who throughout the book goes by the name S. Suki is her lilac Burmese cat. The book is divided into two parts. The first part deals with the 4803 days which S spends with Suki and the second part of the book deals with S's journey with meditation and dealing with grief after she loses Suki. The conversation between Suki and S on being vegetarian, morality and happiness is as fascinating and captivating as it can be. While with the second part of the book anyone who has dealt with grief and is grappling with memories of a dear one after their loss can relate with. It especially struck a chord with me as mediation forms an important aspect of my life and while reading through the book I remembered my initial days when I struggled with meditation and focus. This book has a unique narrative style yet has a lyrical feel to it that keeps you connected and immersed.
This is a book that needs to be taken slowly and requires introspection.

[Sumedha]

I liked some bits of it. The last few chapters were just not worth it at all. I was disappointed.

[Evelyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s difficult to classify or describe this book as it encompasses a number of genres. The book is part fact and part fiction. It’s part memoir in its description of the author’s relationship with, and love for her cat, Suki. It also a spiritual journey as the author records her efforts to learn to meditate and improve her spiritual practices aided and abetted by Suki and other animal guides.

The book feels disjointed, and wonders off-course from its central tale as its tries to balance the story of the author’s spiritual journey with the biography of a cat who played an outsize role in the author’s life, and appears to mix fact with fiction.

The book rates 2.5 stars.

[Dirk · Rating 3 out of 5]

A friend sent me a copy of this book shortly after my cat, Mila, died. Suniti Namjoshi's insightful ruminations on her relationship with her lilac Burmese, Suki, and examination of the lessons learned from her four-legged friend were just the tonic I needed.

[Natalie S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Suniti Namjoshi is a distinctive voice in lesbian, feminist literature, having written over 30 titles including The Fabulous Feminist and Feminist Fables. But her latest book, Suki, looks at a different sort of relationship. It is a lightly fictionalised memoir that explores the deep and complex bond between an Indian woman and her cat as they live together in the English countryside.

Suki is a chatty, lilac Burmese whose name means “happy” in Sanskrit. She is often temperamental and obstinate but despite having quarrels with her owner, S, is still one bright and intelligent feline. S in this case is Namjoshi who writes about her job and bumptious cat and the pair end up having lots of different conversations.

By giving Suki the qualities of a human woman, Namjoshi straddles the lines between human realism (Suki’s character is sketched so well, she could be saying all of these things) and a fantasy fable. The pair have some very interesting debates about life, love, death, meditation, philosophy and other topics, including other animals. The former content and heavier subject matter means at times this book shares qualities with Tuesdays with Morrie.

This biography is structured in two parts, the first is “Memoir”, which focuses exclusively on Suki’s life (all 4083 days of it) and the aftermath of her death. The secondpart, “The Vipassana Trek” is about how Namjoshi deals with the loss, through a meditative journey that is not unlike the lead in Eat, Pray, Love. In the latter part, Namjoshi introduces strange new characters, including an entire menagerie of animals. But this material isn’t as strong as the first part, with the real gold being the exchanges between her and Suki.

Suki is a warm and highly relatable tale that is well-paced and thoughtful. There are also some quaint pictures woven in amongst the symbolic writing and metaphors. Ultimately, this helps create a contemporary and intelligent story that will appeal equally to your heart and your head.



Originally published on 27 January 2014 at the following website: http://www.lotl.com/gay-lesbian-givea...

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[Writer's Edit · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the moment I started reading, I could tell this was a novel I could potentially fall in love with. The opening line reads: “I want to write down everything I can about Suki.” Whether we like to admit it or not, writers as readers are always sucked into a novel with the description of the act of writing. Safe to say, Namjoshi had me hooked then and there.

The thing I found most satisfying about Suki was the cleverly placed universal truths and observations about the writing process and writers themselves. I wondered if the characterisation of Suki was in fact, one of the voices in a writer’s head; self-doubting, challenging and mocking the writer herself.

Read more here: http://www.writersedit.com/book-revie...

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulist Suniti Namjoshi looks back on her life with her cat Suki, and the cat's continuing presence in her life in a memoir that could, I suppose, have been twee but is in fact elegant, moving, funny and wise. I understood more about being a human being, and better yet, being a cat after reading this book.

[Ishika Tiwari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Suki is an adorable, humorous and touching novella on Suki the cat and her caretaker S' relationship with each other. They are in constant communication and it helps the author to satirise human follies and presumptions through Suki's reflections. Overall it's a fast and heart warming read.