Do you consider this book to be an allegory?

Use this forum to discuss the July 2025 Book of the Month, High Clowder Cats by Ruby Knight.
Post Reply
User avatar
Diana Lowery
Moderator
Posts: 3664
Joined: 11 Feb 2019, 07:39
Currently Reading: The Lathe of Heaven
Bookshelf Size: 391
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-diana-lowery.html
Latest Review: Billy Bear Cub by Chad Leisse
Reading Device: B00IKPYKWG

Do you consider this book to be an allegory?

Post by Diana Lowery »

How does this book compare to Animal Farm or Watership Down?
User avatar
NetMassimo
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 7571
Joined: 24 Jul 2019, 06:37
Currently Reading: Cat' Cradle
Bookshelf Size: 524
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-netmassimo.html
Latest Review: Chloe The Clone by William E. Mason
2025 Reading Goal: 60
2025 Goal Completion: 55%

Post by NetMassimo »

I never read Watership Down, but I can say that this is the opposite of Animal Farm, in the sense that Orwell wrote an allegory of a Communist revolution and its descent into a dictatorship while this book is about a honest leader growing to run a democratic society. So yes, it's an allegory.
Ciao :)
Massimo
User avatar
Diana Lowery
Moderator
Posts: 3664
Joined: 11 Feb 2019, 07:39
Currently Reading: The Lathe of Heaven
Bookshelf Size: 391
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-diana-lowery.html
Latest Review: Billy Bear Cub by Chad Leisse
Reading Device: B00IKPYKWG

Post by Diana Lowery »

NetMassimo wrote: 13 Jul 2025, 14:45 I never read Watership Down, but I can say that this is the opposite of Animal Farm, in the sense that Orwell wrote an allegory of a Communist revolution and its descent into a dictatorship while this book is about a honest leader growing to run a democratic society. So yes, it's an allegory.
Great Answer! What do you think the character of Brokenear was meant to represent?
User avatar
NetMassimo
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 7571
Joined: 24 Jul 2019, 06:37
Currently Reading: Cat' Cradle
Bookshelf Size: 524
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-netmassimo.html
Latest Review: Chloe The Clone by William E. Mason
2025 Reading Goal: 60
2025 Goal Completion: 55%

Post by NetMassimo »

Diana Lowery wrote: Yesterday, 10:10
NetMassimo wrote: 13 Jul 2025, 14:45 I never read Watership Down, but I can say that this is the opposite of Animal Farm, in the sense that Orwell wrote an allegory of a Communist revolution and its descent into a dictatorship while this book is about a honest leader growing to run a democratic society. So yes, it's an allegory.
Great Answer! What do you think the character of Brokenear was meant to represent?
I don't know if the author thought of any real person(s) while creating Brokenear. He might be a sort of archetype of the ruler who demands obedience and wants to be a total dominator over his people.
Ciao :)
Massimo
User avatar
Helen Waziri
Book of the Month Participant
Posts: 129
Joined: 22 Jun 2025, 15:28
Currently Reading: High Clowder Cats by Ruby Knight
Bookshelf Size: 0
2025 Reading Goal: 100
2025 Goal Completion: 0%

Post by Helen Waziri »

High Clowder Cats definitely gave me Watership Down vibes more than Animal Farm. It focuses on a group of animals with their own society, facing danger and making tough choices, but it’s less political and more about survival, loyalty, and identity. Animal Farm felt way more like an allegory, while this book leans into the fantasy and adventure side.
"I read to remember that the world is wide, and that somewhere between the pages, I am infinite."
:techie-studyinggray:
— Elara Wyn, Letters Between Quiet Hours
User avatar
Helen Waziri
Book of the Month Participant
Posts: 129
Joined: 22 Jun 2025, 15:28
Currently Reading: High Clowder Cats by Ruby Knight
Bookshelf Size: 0
2025 Reading Goal: 100
2025 Goal Completion: 0%

Post by Helen Waziri »

NetMassimo wrote: Yesterday, 10:33
Diana Lowery wrote: Yesterday, 10:10
NetMassimo wrote: 13 Jul 2025, 14:45 I never read Watership Down, but I can say that this is the opposite of Animal Farm, in the sense that Orwell wrote an allegory of a Communist revolution and its descent into a dictatorship while this book is about a honest leader growing to run a democratic society. So yes, it's an allegory.
Great Answer! What do you think the character of Brokenear was meant to represent?
I don't know if the author thought of any real person(s) while creating Brokenear. He might be a sort of archetype of the ruler who demands obedience and wants to be a total dominator over his people.
Yeah, Brokenear definitely gave off those classic authoritarian vibes. Even if he wasn’t based on a specific person, he feels like a stand-in for that power-hungry ruler archetype we see in fiction.
"I read to remember that the world is wide, and that somewhere between the pages, I am infinite."
:techie-studyinggray:
— Elara Wyn, Letters Between Quiet Hours
Post Reply

Return to “Discuss "High Clowder Cats" by Ruby Knight”