We all know the true end to Mrs Chippy's expedition -- and I have put off reading this book for ages because of it. The book itself is an homage to life from the perspective of a very self-assured feline. The world revolves around him, in his mind, and he doesn't see the ultimate betrayal coming at the end.
There are some laugh out loud passages in this book -- like when two of the ship mates are describing how to turn around in a bunk while Mrs Chippy is nestled between one's ankles. Mrs Chippy finds this droll but "instructive" because, as he notes -- his sleep has been disturbed by the tossing and turning of louts who were not very considerate. Mrs. Chippy is depicted as very curious - inspecting and supervising, going on watches and tormenting the dogs who are persistently depicted as less intelligent.
Whenever someone picks up and carries Mrs Chippy - it's always "I accompanied him on his shoulders ..." or "I accompanied him in the crook of his left arm" ... as if Mrs Chippy is making the decision to have the person pick him up and carry him.
The book is a very amusing exercise in life from the perspective of the cat -- but ultimately, it's an homage to a creature who was betrayed by those humans whose lives intertwined with his. His mate, Chippy, never forgave Shackleton for this act. There's a statue to Mrs. Chippy in Wellington!
REVIEW: Mrs. Chippy's Last Expedition: The Remarkable Journal of Shackleton's Polar-Bound Cat by Caroline Alexander
RATING: 3-stars
© Jennifer R Clark. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. You may share and adapt this content with proper attribution.
