Customer Reviews
One of Gale's better books - By: , 27 Nov 2003 
I enjoyed this book although the bit where the cats are involved (not going to spoil it for you) was very upsetting & the attitude of the women who just stood made me was equally upsetting. However, going back to the main plotline - this is an interesting book, though Deborah's husband's death I found slightly implausible. The love between Judith & Joanna was touching & the way that the three women become closer friends as they learn more about their pasts is delicately written & warming. However as with all Gale's books I found it hard to believein the characters, or particularly care about them, & Gale's constant use of infidelityin all his novels is rather depressing. Can we please have a book from himin which people are faithful & are NICE to each other?
Slowly gains a grip - By: , 15 Mar 2001 
As with Patrick Gale's other books, I find too many unwieldy & awkward sentences - I do wish he'd get rid of all those oddly-placed & irritating "howevers". However, the characters & situations are fascinating, & the reader gradually warms to the initially drippy but eventually courageous Deborah, Judith's bereaved sister. The relationship between the sisters is uneasy, & gradually we discover that both have reasons to feel guilt & shame about their childhood. The minor characters are well-drawn, especially eccentric Esther of the eponymous cat sanctuary. Ultimately an engrossing book which draws you into difficult relationships, and, like all Gale's novels, has a strong sense of place & community. As with ROUGH MUSIC, I find that Gale is more successful at portraying female relationships than he is at male ones - as all the main characters are female here, the novel shows his strengths.
A book to get your claws into - By: , 15 Jan 2001 Patrick Gale is a master storyteller & The Cat Sanctuary a powerful & moving book shot through with humour & humility. Essentially it is the story of two sisters, Deborah & Julia separated for years by geography, personality & sexuality. Tragic circumstances throw them back together when Deborah's diplomat husband is accidentally assassinated & as the grief begins to subside skeletons start falling out of cupboards. In a cottagein Cornwall they & Joanna, Julia's lover, are forced to confront their pasts as well as the awkwardness of their present. This is a beautiful yet truthful study of the pain unwittingly inflicted by friends, lovers & family. This book is supremely well-observed. The backdrop of the Cornish countrysidein all its moods is a metaphor for the stormy & capricious nature of relationships - you can almost taste the mist & it's a beautiful place to lose yourself for an hour or two.
Asin his other novels there's a supporting cast of eccentric & bizarre characters all of whom are sympathetically & truthfully drawn. Patrick Gale has the ability to make the extraordinary seem usual & the usual extraordinary. His characters live onin the mind well after the final page is turned.
