The Undrowned Child series by Michelle Lovric has cats. Not decorative cats, not mascot cats, but cats that are structurally important to the plot and emotionally important to the reader. This is the correct use of cats in fiction.
Lovric’s Venice is a place where cats move between the human world and something older. They are observers. They carry information. They have opinions. In the logic of the series, this is not whimsy — it’s a natural extension of the way Venice actually relates to its cats, which is differently than most cities relate to theirs.
Feline Fridays has always been about the literary cat as a specific kind of character: the one who knows more than it’s saying, who operates in registers that human characters can’t access, who provides the story with a kind of ambient intelligence. Lovric’s cats do all of this.
The Undrowned Child was the right book to celebrate at this point in the series — complex enough in its worldbuilding to sustain repeat readings, warm enough in its characterization to reward emotional investment. Teo and Renzo’s Venice is a Venice worth returning to.
Related: The Mourning Emporium review
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Undrowned Child and why is it featured in Feline Fridays? The Undrowned Child by Michelle Lovric is a Venice-set children’s fantasy that features cats which are ‘structurally important to the plot and emotionally important to the reader — not decorative cats, not mascot cats.’ The Feline Fridays celebration marks the book’s publication, recognising that Lovric’s cats represent ’the correct use of cats in fiction’ — observers who carry information, have opinions, and operate in registers human characters cannot access.
How do cats function in Lovric’s Venice and what makes them different from typical literary cats? In the logic of the series, Venice’s cats ‘move between the human world and something older,’ which the post describes as ‘a natural extension of the way Venice actually relates to its cats, which is differently than most cities relate to theirs.’ Feline Fridays is described as always being ‘about the literary cat as a specific kind of character — the one who knows more than it’s saying, who provides the story with a kind of ambient intelligence.’
What does the review say about The Undrowned Child as a reading experience? The book is described as ‘complex enough in its world-building to sustain repeat readings, warm enough in its characterisation to reward emotional investment.’ Teo and Renzo’s Venice is described as ‘a Venice worth returning to.’ The post also links to the companion review of The Mourning Emporium, positioning The Undrowned Child as the beginning of a series worth following.
Further Reading from Authoritative Sources
- Michelle Lovric — Wikipedia’s Michelle Lovric article provides biographical and bibliographical context for the author, helping readers understand The Undrowned Child within her broader writing career and her deep connection to Venice as a setting.
- Venice — Wikipedia’s Venice article contextualises the setting of The Undrowned Child, helping readers understand the real-world city whose culture and geography Lovric draws on for her fantasy series.
