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When he was fourteen years old and beset by chronic ill health, Patrick O'Brian began creating his first fictional character. I did it in my bedroom, and a little when I should have been doing my homework," he confessed in a note on the original dust-jacket. Caesar tells the picaresque, enchanting, and quite bloodthirsty story of a creature whose father is a giant panda and whose mother is a snow leopard. Through the eyes and voice of this fabulous creature, we learn of his life as a cub, his first hunting exploits, his first encounters with man, his capture and taming. "Caesar was published in 1930, three months after O'Brian's fifteenth birthday, but the dry wit and unsentimental precision O'Brian readers savor in the Aubrey/Maturin series is already in evidence. The book combines Stephen Maturin's fascination and encyclopedic knowledge of natural history with the narrative charm of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book."--BOOK JACKET.
A hybrid creature born of a giant panda and a snow leopard navigates the perils of the wild and the encroaching influence of humanity. Caesar, the titular protagonist, recounts his early life as a cub, detailing his development of hunting instincts and his eventual capture by men. The narrative follows his transition from a wild predator to a tamed entity, exploring the friction between his dual biological heritage and the constraints imposed by human intervention. Told through the first-person perspective of the creature, the story maintains a detached, observant tone that highlights the harsh realities of his environment.
This early work is frequently analyzed as a precursor to the stylistic precision and naturalistic interests that define the author's later, more famous maritime series. Readers often note the surprising maturity of the prose, given that it was written by the author during his mid-teens. The narrative is characterized by a blend of fable-like charm and a stark, almost clinical approach to the violence inherent in the natural world. It serves as a curiosity for those interested in the evolution of the author's voice, showcasing an early mastery of descriptive detail and character perspective.
Page Count:
112
Publication Date:
1930-01-01
Publisher:
Harper Collins
ISBN-10:
0006513735
ISBN-13:
9780006513735
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