The Rabbi's Cat

Joann Sfar’s graphic novel entitled “The Rabbi’s Cat” has more than one theme running through it. Much different than the other novels we have reviewed, “The Rabbi’s Cat” offers a discrete sense of humor throughout all the three parts. Using a cat to narrate the tale in itself can be considered quite different and therefore amusing to us. Toward the beginning of the novel, the Rabbi’s cat eats the Rabbi’s parrot and gains the ability to speak. The Rabbi and his daughter, Zlabya, think this fact is alarming but soon they become well adapted to their talking cat. I find this type of novel very enjoyable to read.

Once the cat is able to talk, the Rabbi immediately insists that the cat learn and respect Jewish traditions. The cat’s first thought is that he wasn’t so sure if he wanted to follow Jewish traditions because although his master is Jewish, he wasn’t so sure he was. This type of conflict could be seen in numerous novels, whether they are traditional or more modern. The ability to chose your religion and way of life is something each person must deal with in their lifetime. Because the cat is much like a child to the Rabbi he must decide whether or not he will follow in the same footsteps as his master, who can be viewed much like a parent figure.

One of the scenes that interested but also confused me was the one where the cat began having nightmares about his mistress, Zlabya. During this scene much of the nightmares were underwater. Although the nightmares were about Zlabya dying and leaving the cat and the Rabbi, I’m still unsure as to why the scene took place underwater. Does this have anything to do with cat’s being afraid of water? Maybe because it was the cat’s nightmare, it was supposed to show a deep sense of fear by having the cat experience the horror of his mistress dying in an even more intense atmosphere.