Book Review: Tails of a Country Garden by Phil Janes

Hi everyone,

Today we are looking at the book The Tails of a Country Garden by Phil Janes:

Tails_of_a_Country_Garden tabby.fw

About the book:
Charming story following the amusing escapades and hijinks of one domestic feline as it journeys into the unknown, feral countryside.

“You don’t talk to strangers, Fleet, you chase them!”

Emerging from kitten-hood, inquisitive Fleet is desperate to escape through the cat flap and into the wilds of the garden. Senior and authoritative moggy, Strongclaw, stuck in his ways and assumptions, has been sharing life lessons – dismissing dogs as witless and squirrels as mad – along with strict orders for the naive Fleet to chase off anything new or different.

But as Fleet explores the outside world and encounters exciting new animals – including a family of hungry foxes, a philosophical mole and even a belligerent snail – he realises that they don’t quite fit into Strongclaw’s menagerie of menace and that first impressions – and your elders – aren’t always right.

Whimsical and delightfully humorous, Tails of a Country Garden is the quintessential companion for pet owners, young and old, as well as anyone with a love of the countryside. Combining the mischievousness of Beatrix Potter and with the convincing anthropomorphism of Richard Adams’ Watership Down, Janes’ engaging characters will capture the imagination and raise a smile, while still presenting a serious underlying message of social acceptance and understanding.

Janes’ previous books The Galaxy Game and Fission Impossible have already been critically acclaimed; “wonderfully unexpected” by The Times, “there’s a sharp, post-modern consciousness at work here” from New Scientist and a “sense of humour as silly as mine” from TV broadcaster Chris Tarrant.

Our verdict?

We love it!  James must have been paying very close attention to his own cats as this is exactly how I would expect my mischievous little one to think about me all day haha. Us humans are jokingly called ‘servants’ or ‘feeders’ by Fleet (the cat) and of course all of us cat owners do sometimes wonder if that is how our companions see us! 😉

The book is filled with humour and follows the adventures of Fleet as he explores the countryside.

Certainly suitable for all age ranges the book will be best suited for those that own or love cats.

Tails of a Country Garden by Phil Janes (published by Clink Street Publishing RRP £7.99 paperback) is available to buy online from 1st April 2015 from retailers including amazon.co.uk (UK) or amazon.com (US) and to order from all good bookstores. For more information please visit philjanes.com and follow @philjaneswriter on Twitter.

More about the author:
Blog Me
Phil Janes
lives in Croydon, South London with his wife and two cats Samwise and Rosie. He works as a business management consultant and for the past seven years has written a regular column for Expatriate Lifestyle magazine in Malaysia. His previous titles include The Galaxy Game (1992 by Millennium), Fission Impossible (1993 Millennium) and I, Arnold (1995 by Millennium). 

And meet the cats that we assume are the inspiration behind the book! 🙂

Samwise

Samwise

Rosie

Rosie

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Thanks,

Marc

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16 thoughts on “Book Review: Tails of a Country Garden by Phil Janes

  1. mvaden1948 says:

    Oh, no, another book to buy. But I’ll be good and put it on my wishlist instead.
    and as I scrolled down I thought “what’s Diavolo’s picture doing here?” but then realized that Samwise looks just like him…including what I call his little white bow tie (for his white tie and black tail events). He just is missing Diavolo’s ear tufts that make him look so devilish.
    I look forward to reading this one.

  2. lawjic says:

    I am sure the book is wonderful, and I’ll throw it in my cart if its being sold on Amazon. I can speed read. But I have to say, ROSIE is a stunningly gorgeous kitty! Wow. Rosie, you rock!

  3. Phil Janes says:

    Hi Marc! Thanks for the comments, and I hope everyone enjoys the book as much as you did.

    And to lawjic / Sheryl ; I told Rosie what you said. She just gave me a sort of “Well, of course” look, but I’m sure she’s been walking around with her tail a little higher ever since!

    All the best
    Phil Janes

  4. Pingback: International Giveaway: Tails of a Country Garden by Phil Janes | Katzenworld

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