Gobbolino the Witch’s Cat by Ursula Moray Williams

Gobbolino the Witch’s Cat by Ursula Moray Williams

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE DEEPLY EMOTIONALLY TRAUMATISED BOY HAVE I GOT THE BOOK FOR YOU.

SO! Beforehand: I pick up Gobbolino and I think gosh, what a delightful thing. I have hazy memories of this at best but positive memories and this is not always the case , perhaps it is time to revisit and see how I feel about this text today. I am not particularly familiar with Ursula Moray Williams but I always have positive vibes about her and then I find an edition with a foreword by Joan Aiken (JOAN AIKEN I shriek to myself WHAT A FOREWORD PERSON TO FOREWORD) and I think well yes, this is my jam, now is the time, let us read this warm and delightful story about the cat and remember why I liked it so much before.

THAT IS WHERE IT ALL WENT WRONG MY FRIENDS. I pick up this book, I discover that Gobbolino is a witch’s cat who wants to be a kitchen cat and have a home of his own and THAT EVERYBODY IN THIS BOOK IS AWFUL TO HIM AND IT DOESN’T STOP CAN’T YOU JUST LET THE CUTE CAT HAVE A HOME INSTEAD OF BEING SO AWFUL AND MEAN DON’T YOU MAKE ME COME ROUND THERE HE CAN’T BLAME BEING WHO HE IS STOP JUDGING ON APPEARANCES AND GET TO KNOW HIM HE’S LOVELY THIS IS FAR TOO STRESSFUL I DID NOT NEED THIS oh thank god.

This will traumatise your socks off and then traumatise your socks back on and you will love it every second of the way because it is perfectly, perfectly done. It is intensely simple, intensely clean and clear in style, and a beautiful thing to read aloud and you will love it and loathe it and will want to hug it and also, every other page, just mutter GOD STOP PICKING ON THE ADORABLE CAT YOU ABSOLUTE ROTTERS.

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