[Ohne Titel] is a powerful, moving work that attempts to present the repercussions of suicide, depression, man's inhumanity towards man, and man's relationship to the universe all in a narrative style that has no fixed chronology or semblance of structure: characters die before they are born, marry in one paragraph and divorce in the next, and in between are vivid, brutal descriptions of rape and public executions. Interspersed within the narrative are vignettes featuring a range of characters, some from different time periods. All of these accounts are intertwined, punctuated by short bursts of automatic writing which the author explains are the "echoes of time," rapid-fire thoughts produced by anonymous, sentient beings throughout history and the universe.
In training to be a scribe like his father, thirteen-year-old Joel longs for a different life. He is an artist, but drawing is not allowed in Israel. Like King Solomon, Joel understands the languages of animals, but few believe in such a power or understand its value. How can he find a life that will allow him to be himself and still find a place in his world, ancient Jerusalem? Jerusalem: a city without cats—impossible? Yet such is the case. Wise King Solomon sits upon Israel’s throne, and the temple of God crowns Mount Zion—but still, no cats! Then a passing caravan leaves behind it Ta-Muit, who determines that Joel will be its new master (if cats may be said to accept masters). Mischief quickly follows, ending with Joel standing before Solomon himself, awaiting the king’s justice, not only for Ta-Muit, but for himself. But that’s not the end of the adventure . . . Joel and the Egyptian Cat occurs three thousand years ago, but it tells a timeless tale of sons versus fathers, individuals against conformist societies, and young people at war with themselves as they grow into adulthood. Despite the conflicts he faces, Joel will succeed, but not without the help and understanding of his family, his king, and—that mischief maker Ta-Muit, the Egyptian cat.
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