Why Cats Hate Birds — Tom Armstrong

The title of "Why Cats Hates Birds" very much reflects the collection's themes. Are we trapped by our nature? And what is our understanding of nature? What is black and white, straight and gay, reality and fantasy, Canadian and Barbadian? The stories in "Why Cats Hate Birds" are Armstrong's way of saying that such distinctions are not natural but of our own construction. The work spans the length of Armstrong's writing career. The earliest, 'Flying in God's Face,' which inspired his novel "Of Water" and Rock, is set in the 1960's, though the majority take place in a today familiar to us all. Three stories in particular are linked by the character Charles Blackette: 'Kingdom of Fools,' 'Invention' and 'Blood is Thick.' They explore Blackette's life as a black man who battles his notion of self. But, at heart, all the stories in "Why Cats Hate Birds," perceptive, resonant, emotionally honest, are an attempt to break those silos that separate us, and make us realize that other people's stories are our stories.