Odd Birds & Fat Cats (An Urban Bestiary)

PRAISE FOR ODD BIRDS & FAT CATS

“Here is a gorgeous example of literary animal husbandry by two artists who give us learning with joy. A beautiful book in every way.” —Roger Rosenblatt, author, most recently, of Cold Moon, Cataract Blues, and A Steinway on the Beach

"How lucky for the world that such a wealth of talent is localized in the Wortsman family. Love the text, love the pics." —Patricia Marx, author of You Can Only Yell at Me for One Thing at a Time

"Under the guise of a bestiary, the Wortsman father-daughter duo has produced a keenly written and beautifully drawn account of our encounters, ideas, fantasies, and familiars in the city. The more I read, the more I was delightfully surprised at the generosity of their vision and depth of their shared wisdom." —Dan Nadel, Curator at Large, Lucas Museum of Narrative Art

“Each of these miniature worlds—whether we are given to contemplate a spider drunk on cognac or a seagull “patiently and dispassionately” devouring a pigeon run over on a highway—has its own climate and dimensions. By turns lyrical, gruesome, comically exhilarating or abruptly somber, grotesque or fantastic, they uncover startling likenesses in the heart of the apparently alien (ants are “micromanagers in three-piece bodies”), and strange landscapes in the corners of the ordinary. From the vestigial hind toe of the pigeon to the crannies of the aging human face, any small glance or turn of phrase can turn into an unsettling adventure. Following in the ancient footsteps of Pliny the Elder and Saint Isidore of Seville, the Wortsmans create their own singular bestiary, in which the tiniest spaces are cavernous and full of hidden histories.” —Geoffrey O’Brien, author of Arabian Nights of 1934

“What a wonderful collaboration, and between father and daughter, sure to be a bestseller.” —Kate Taverna

“Aurélie is an amazing artist.” —Jeannette Watson

PRAISE FOR PETER WORTSMAN

“Peter Wortsman’s compressed fictions strike swift and hard, like a good Zen whack that awakens enlightenment.” —Tom Christensen

“Wortsman . . . connect[s] the power of the dream narrative to conscious language to create unique works that walk a curious line between fiction and poetry.” —Russell Edson

“A master of the telling detail, Wortsman is one of those rare writers upon whom nothing, as Henry James put it, is ever lost.” —Marjorie Perloff

“Marvelous writing, wonderful craft, and the breath of imagination . . . [Wortsman] succeeds so well in his craft and art that it reads ‘artless’ and ‘spontaneous,’ which to me is the highest of compliments.” —Hubert Selby, Jr.