This novel pulled me in and set me to breathing in its life. A multi leveled tale of a woman healing from past pain and opening to love.
And...It's about a witchy woman who is part cat, and how the cats talk to her and teach her.
And...It's about confronting prejudice, and the hopes we place on the next generation to live better lives.
And...it's about the power of stories to bring history alive.

This is a book I want to keep to read again and again. The imagery is strong and unique. This description of summer solstice: "The year's longest sunshine baked houses and fields and people into a rich corpulence, a loaf of risen bread, a beer in full froth, a seed eager to burst open to rain." And that was just a convenient example, maybe not even the best.
The only slow part was 1 or 2 paragraphs opening new sections, where the author describes the season thru the experience of a dog or as related to history. ( )

This novel is about a woman who lives alone, inside a mirage, in the mountains of present-day New Mexico.

Kat O’Malley is not your average recluse. Several hundred years ago, O’Malley, then named Josefina, and her brother, Julio, received a gift, or curse, from their mother just before she was killed for being a witch. They were given nine lives, and made part cat. Kat is now on her fifth life. Her other lives did not end well. She was drowned for being a witch, stoned to death for being "too well liked" by cats, and she died in childbirth after giving birth to 13 daughters (not all at the same time).

Today, O’Malley has a justifiable fear of the outside world. She is happy to live with 50 cats, with whom she communicates telepathically. One day, a man named Angelo DiVita arrives at her door; it is actually Julio, her brother, from 400 years ago. He is now headmaster at a local commune/alternative high school. She reluctantly accepts his invitation to teach a history course at the school two days a week. Her only conditions are that she does it her way, and that there are no visitors to the class.

As at any other school, there are those on the Board of Directors who just have to stick their noses where they are not welcome, including one who thinks of herself as some New Age goddess. As the semester goes on, Kat exposes her students to the sort of history that won’t be found in any textbook. Her refusal to allow visitors to her class leads to resentment and prejudice on the part of the Board (she won’t allow visitors, so, therefore, she must be filling their heads with something evil). Kat has seen this before. When tragedy strikes near the end of the semester, what will become of Kat?

This tale easily reaches the level of Wow. It’s very contemporary, with just a little bit of weirdness. The author does a wonderful job throughout, and this is very much recommended. ( )

It’s common knowledge that cats have nine lives. What if you were a human given nine lives? Would it be a blessing, a curse, or an opportunity? Now in her fifth life, Kat is forced to decide just that. A man from her past returns and gives her the opportunity to teach history – real history, the stuff that isn’t normally included in books. Dexter’s contemporary story of magical realism will make you think about history, yourself, and love.

Fifth Life of the Catwoman.doc

Fifth Life of the Catwoman Discussion Questions ( )