Kitten by G. Arthur BrownMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
My introduction to G. Arthur Brown was the astounding short story Bronson's Shark Tank, which can be attained from Issu.com from the Bizarro edition of Surreal Grotesque, otherwise defunct (for now, anyways). This book has plenty of five-star moments but is overall a 4.4 for me (rounded down, of course). There is a fashionable hat/giant panda sequence in the book, which could stand as a 5-star sketch, and there are other such moments.
Kitten is kind of a two-part story, the first part involves an Earthbound family and the second part involves higher realities, so to speak. And this second part surprisingly earned my attention and it contains my favorite parts. In the process, G. Arthur Brown slathers us over with mutated pop culture references spliced with high art references. All this leads to a satisfying end.
Brown's use of stereotypes is also heartening and hilarious. In Kitten, stereotypes intermix mix with non-stereotypes in a way that warms my heart, I like to see the two getting along. Stereotype discrimination is no fun and I think Brown gets that. One thing is for sure: the titular kitten is no stereotype. All hail the King of Kittens!
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