North Bay, Ont., author Rod Carley released a book this summer that is a parody of the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic The Great Gatsby, featuring a cat he adopted during the pandemic. The Great Catsby by Hilton features Carley’s rescued tabby, Hilton. “I simply translated it from tabby to English because I happened to minor in tabby at university,” Carley said. “It is a playful parody, a catification if you will, of the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic from 1925.” Hilton takes to the original Carley said he rescued Hilton during the pandemic, and the feline took a shine to the original. The author added that the original entered the public domain on Jan. 1, 2021, and he believed his pet wanted to catify it. “I said you can do what you want because there is no more copyright,” Carley said. “He wanted to breathe new life into the novel from the perspective of a domestic house cat.” Carley said his novel is about love foiled, and ambitions foisted, all set within the mad uncertain world of the 1920s in New York. “It is illustrated by Quebec illustrator Juliette Miron who has done a wonderful job with the drawings,” Carley said. Hilton becomes an authorial cat Carley added that Hilton has become this authorial cat. He has been representing the feline, and Hilton has also done some interviews as well. “Hilton prefers, though, to lie on cat-sized windowsills, bird watching and look for new muses for future writing,” Carley said. Sales support animal rescues Carley said part of the sales from his books also go to provincial humane societies and cat rescue centres. “Because Hilton is a rescue cat and he was rescued by All Heart Pet Rescue in Powassan, so he really wants to pay it forward,” Carley said. Carley added that Hilton is taking all this media attention in stride, and the exposure has not gone to his head.
