What do you think?
Rate this book
Dead Cat Bounce: Story by Gerard Houarner ; Illustrated by Gak
A satiric fable written in minimalistic style.
- GenresFiction
32 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2000
About the author
Gerard Houarner
78 books39 followers“Houarner is a smart, intelligent talent who has a gift for writing with serene beauty about the most atrocious things.” Ed Bryant, Locus
He is also the author of 5 novels and over 300 short stories and novellas, some gathered in 6 collections.
He fell to Earth in the fifties and is a product of the NYC school system and the City College of New York, where he studied writing under Joseph Heller and Joel Oppenheimer and crashed hallucinogenic William Burroughs seminars back in the day.
The mental health field has provided a living as well as inspiration for the past 34 years. His current position might be described as Director of Recovery and Recreation at Arkham Asylum.
Since 1998, he has served as Fiction Editor for Space and Time magazine.
He continues to write whenever he can, mostly at night, about the dark.
He is also the author of 5 novels and over 300 short stories and novellas, some gathered in 6 collections.
He fell to Earth in the fifties and is a product of the NYC school system and the City College of New York, where he studied writing under Joseph Heller and Joel Oppenheimer and crashed hallucinogenic William Burroughs seminars back in the day.
The mental health field has provided a living as well as inspiration for the past 34 years. His current position might be described as Director of Recovery and Recreation at Arkham Asylum.
Since 1998, he has served as Fiction Editor for Space and Time magazine.
He continues to write whenever he can, mostly at night, about the dark.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 18, 2024
You will fall flat. You will fail. You will struggle. You will sacrifice. You will feel cursed. You will scoff at the gods. You will bounce back. You will get on your feet. You will die.
An Egyptian cat is born only to be sacrificed to Bastet, the Cat Goddess, before twelve moons have passed.
In traditions of Egyptian antiquity (Kemet, specifically), the number twelve represents a cycle of completion, thus setting in motion our forsaken feline’s journey from life, to the afterlife, to merciful death, to rebirth.
There are also the twelve principal gods of Ancient Egypt, of whom Dead Cat, quite understandably, doesn’t think much. He passes them by as his mummified corpse descends, into the Underworld, not bouncing back; falling flat. Dead Cat doesn’t bother to name the gods observed, just mention that Dead Cat noticed them.
(One thing I admire about cats. They can’t be bothered. They are not impressed):
Dead Cat sees many other sacrificed animals in The Kingdom of the Dead and again, is not impressed:
Dead Cat is told by other denizens of Hell that he must have ‘desire’ to return to the living world. Dead cat doesn’t have that, because Dead Cat is a cat, and a dead one at that. Dead Cat must borrow hate from a damned human to track the way back to the living.
Dead cat walks eons.
Dead cat climbs buildings, jumps for bird; good to hunt again. Dead Cat falls, falls, falls, falls, falls, falls, falls, falls, falls, falls, falls, falls, like descending into hell, again. But Dead Cat does not keep falling or keep dying.
Dead Cat finally bounces, but walks away, dead. Like Judd Crandall said, “Sometimes, dead is better.”
The cycle is complete.
An Egyptian cat is born only to be sacrificed to Bastet, the Cat Goddess, before twelve moons have passed.
In traditions of Egyptian antiquity (Kemet, specifically), the number twelve represents a cycle of completion, thus setting in motion our forsaken feline’s journey from life, to the afterlife, to merciful death, to rebirth.
There are also the twelve principal gods of Ancient Egypt, of whom Dead Cat, quite understandably, doesn’t think much. He passes them by as his mummified corpse descends, into the Underworld, not bouncing back; falling flat. Dead Cat doesn’t bother to name the gods observed, just mention that Dead Cat noticed them.
(One thing I admire about cats. They can’t be bothered. They are not impressed):
Bastet come, curse.
“Spit it out,” she says.
Words come. Like hair balls. “Love you,” my message says. “Worship you. Send more gold.”
“Eat sand,” Bastet says.
Whatever.
Dead Cat sees many other sacrificed animals in The Kingdom of the Dead and again, is not impressed:
Same story. Bad life. Stupid death. Hell boring.
Dead Cat is told by other denizens of Hell that he must have ‘desire’ to return to the living world. Dead cat doesn’t have that, because Dead Cat is a cat, and a dead one at that. Dead Cat must borrow hate from a damned human to track the way back to the living.
Dead cat walks eons.
Dead cat climbs buildings, jumps for bird; good to hunt again. Dead Cat falls, falls, falls, falls, falls, falls, falls, falls, falls, falls, falls, falls, like descending into hell, again. But Dead Cat does not keep falling or keep dying.
Dead Cat finally bounces, but walks away, dead. Like Judd Crandall said, “Sometimes, dead is better.”
The cycle is complete.
May 28, 2019
Cat was born in a cattery in Egypt. Cat is less than a year old when Cat is killed and mummified for the cat goddess Bast. As a mummified offering, Cat is sold to pilgrims, and serves as a messenger to deliver their prayers to the Goddess.
Goddess Bast doesn't send Cat back to the land of the living, so Cat wanders around Hell. But Hell is boring - No hunger, no hunt, no sex. Cat beings to look for a way out. Cat learns that enough Hate or Love will send you back. Cat doesn't have enough, but learns that Hate or Love can be borrowed from the dead. Cat makes a deal with a dead man to borrow his hate, in return for carrying a message back to his living family. Cat delivers the message, and learns to exist in the living world. Living world is fun.
I like the art, and the simple storytelling from the point of view of the cat. I've always been a fan of cats and the goddess Bast, and I enjoyed the tale of a cat's journey to find a way to escape the afterlife and come back to the land of the living, where there are birds to chase and fun things to see.
Goddess Bast doesn't send Cat back to the land of the living, so Cat wanders around Hell. But Hell is boring - No hunger, no hunt, no sex. Cat beings to look for a way out. Cat learns that enough Hate or Love will send you back. Cat doesn't have enough, but learns that Hate or Love can be borrowed from the dead. Cat makes a deal with a dead man to borrow his hate, in return for carrying a message back to his living family. Cat delivers the message, and learns to exist in the living world. Living world is fun.
I like the art, and the simple storytelling from the point of view of the cat. I've always been a fan of cats and the goddess Bast, and I enjoyed the tale of a cat's journey to find a way to escape the afterlife and come back to the land of the living, where there are birds to chase and fun things to see.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews