When people talk about wanting to read a good book, this is the kind of book they are talking about. The Cat’s Table chronicles one boy’s experiences aboard an ocean liner bound for England, a ship that is “a brilliant microcosm for the floating dream of childhood”. Years later, Michael the middle-aged writer recalls Michael the boy’s interactions with the group of eccentrics seated at meal times at the ship’s lowliest table, the cat’s table. Although a novel, Ondaatje’s clever use of biographical details (the main character’s name, profession and nationality are the author’s own) adds a playful element that emphasises the inherent similarity between the game of growing up and the act of reading: use of the imagination. A beautiful book.