Title: Kitten to Cat
Author: Carl D. Schultz
Publisher: URLink Print and Media
ISBN: 978-1-68486-466-9
Pages: 120
Genre: Fiction
Reviewed by: Aaron Washington
Pacific Book Review
Carl D. Schultz plunges readers into a disorienting and surreal world. The narrative meanders through a series of bizarre and unsettling events involving a quartet of strange characters who engage in questionable activities, including a profanity-laden bathroom scene and bizarre cross-burning rituals. The book presents a detailed character development as well as offers an unusual experience laden where the reader wanders in the mind of a drugged-up writer. In the end, you realize it is simply a story about a boy who likes a girl and hopes she likes him back.
Kitten to Cat is a perplexing and enigmatic work of fiction which defies conventional storytelling norms. It takes readers on a literary journey through a nightmarish and unsettling landscape populated by characters engaged in bewildering activities. Schultz’s writing style is characterized by a relentless stream of consciousness, which can be both disorienting and mesmerizing. His writing deviates from the norm and dares the reader to do the same. Kind of like that friend who dares you to jump into a river while screaming at the top of your lungs. It is a literary experience only for the daring.
The book reads almost like a hallucination. It leaves the reader uneasy and disturbed, not quite sure of their surroundings. Almost like they have imbibed the substance from Chapter 1. Schultz’s ability to evoke vivid and disturbing imagery is undeniable, and the narrative’s unconventional structure adds to the sense of disquiet. He has an uncanny ability to pull you in and hold you hostage. The images he evokes, crisp as the horizon on a clear sky day, will remain with you as your brain begs you to make sense of them.
This is not the book for the traditional reader. It is not a book for anyone who would not keep an open mind. It is a book for anyone who does not mind being disturbed a little bit. It is a book for those who enjoy discovering the unusual and reveling in the strange. It will be challenging to read as there are numerous editing failures. It requires a good scrub from an editor and a little bit of alignment then it can thrive as the literary dirty Uncle Sal we all hate to love.
Kitten to Cat is a provocative and experimental work that pushes the boundaries of storytelling. It offers a unique reading experience for those willing to venture into its dark and disconcerting world, although it may not be a comfortable or accessible read for all audiences. Schultz’s daring explorations of unconventional narrative forms and unsettling themes are sure to leave a lasting impression on those who dare to delve into its depths. This is exactly the book to shake things up. This book has to be read by those daring to tackle new frontiers of literary vernacular.
