Felidae (novel)
The English edition of Felidae, published by Villard Books, a division of Random House
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| Author | Akif Pirinçci |
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| Original title | Felidae |
| Translator | Ralph Noble |
| Country | Germany |
| Language | German |
| Series | Felidae #1 |
| Genre | Crime fiction |
| Publisher | Wilhem Goldmann Verlag |
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Publication date
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19 May 1989 |
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Published in English
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24 May 1993 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 262 |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 29182005 |
| Followed by | Felidae 2: On the Road |
Felidae is a 1989 novel by the German-Turkish writer Akif Pirinçci. The main character is a cat named Francis who investigates the murders of several cats in a big city in Germany. As of 2012, there are eight books in the Felidae series: Felidae, Felidae II (also known as Felidae on the Road or, in the original German version, Francis), Cave Canem, Das Duell, Salve Roma!, Schandtat, Felipolis and Göttergleich, of which only Felidae, Felidae II, and Felidae V: Salve Roma! have been translated into English.
Although being primarily a work of crime fiction, the Felidae series discuss many contemporary ethical problems and philosophical questions, such as the relationship between mankind and animals and the idea of superior races within species. Thus, the Felidae series can be considered more complex and multi-layered than many contemporary crime novels.
The novel begins with Francis, a tomcat, moving to a new neighborhood with his owner. Francis soon finds Sascha's corpse. Bluebeard, a deformed local cat, is convinced that humans(cat slang: "can-openers") are responsible for the death and other recent murders. Francis disagrees with this assessment, convinced that the slash on Sascha's neck was caused by teeth. The discovery of the body marks the start of terrible nightmares that afflict Francis and intertwine him with the murders. Another tomcat, "Deep Purple", is the next victim; while visiting the body, Francis notices that he, like Sascha, most probably was killed by another animal, in exactly the same way as Sascha.
That night, Francis hears loud yowls that are coming from the uninhabited upper floors of his house. He finds a strange religious meeting taking place, in which a cat named Joker preaches about a cat known as Claudandus, who allegedly sacrificed himself and ascended to Heaven. Meanwhile, cats jump into frayed wires and electrocute themselves. Francis accidentally alerts Joker to his presence, and is chased by the cult members. He escapes and falls through a skylight. He then meets Felicity, a blind Russian Blue who has heard the murderer and his victims shortly before their death. Additionally, Felicity says that she sees images in her mind alongside feelings of fear and pain. Francis believes that the images are actually memories retained from childhood. After leaving Felicity's home, Bluebeard takes Francis to Pascal , an intelligent Havana Brown who has learned to use his owner's computer. With it, he has compiled a list of the local cats. Francis learns from Pascal that Felicity has just been reportedly murdered.
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