Windrusher
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Windrusher is an adventure/fantasy novel by Victor DiGenti featuring a feline hero who takes readers on a series of adventures as he searches for his family.
The Trembles left their cat behind with another family member when they moved from Connecticut to Crystal River, Florida. There's a mystical thread that runs through the book and readers learn that cats have a culture dating back thousands of years to ancient Egypt where they were first domesticated.
Published in 2004, Windrusher is the first in a series and introduces readers to a cast of intriguing Hyskos (cat word for humans), along with Windrusher and other felines he picks up during his journey. Since cats sleep so much (up to 18 hours a day) dreams play a major role in the book, and it's in a dream that Windrusher encounters the Holy Mother, Irissa-u , a legendary feline goddess, and he interprets the dream as meaning he's been given a mission to find his family. This propels him to undertake his perilous journey filled with surprise and discovery. Along the way, he finds the inner resources to overcome his fears and not only survives, but fulfills his mission. Windrusher is the winner of multiple awards, winning a Royal Palm Award for Best Young Adult Fiction of 2004 given by the Florida Writers Association, and winner of a Muse Medallion for Best Fiction by the Cat Writers Association.
Reviews: "I literally couldn't put it down-it is so beautifully written. What a wonderful read. I can't wait for Windrusher's next adventure." Betty White, actress and animal lover "Touching, mystical, completely engrossing. Put this on your bookshelf next to Call of the Wild and Black Beauty. Windrusher's great adventure belongs with the animal classics." Linda Stewart, author of the Sam the Cat Mystery series "What a sensory kaleidoscope! DiGenti pierces the mysterious veil of a cat's secret life in this magical epic." Pamela Bauer Mueller, author of Eight Paws to Georgia and the Kiska Trilogy
Contents |
[edit] Main Characters
[edit] Windrusher
An orange and black tiger-like domestic cat, who sets out on the great journey.
[edit] Windrusher's other names
Tony: The name Kimmy Tremble, his original Hyskos caretaker, called him. Son of Nefer-iss-tu: Every good cat, according to Windrusher, has two names: a Mother's name and a Call name. Windrusher's mother's name is Son of Nefer-iss-tu. Windrusher: Our hero's call name. Since cats name themselves, the call name is the one by which other cats know them. Windrusher found his call name in a dream. Pferusha-ulis: Windrusher's name in ancient cat language. Amtrak: Linda and Lorene adopted Windrusher from a shelter and renamed him Amtrak. Crackers: Late in the story, Windrusher is taken in by an elderly lady who decides to call him Crackers. Feng Shui: Windrusher is taken in by the Lowery's and Mrs. Lowery names him Feng Shui, or Feng for short. Fang: Mr. Lowery thinks Feng Shui is not an appropriate name for a tough cat like Windrusher and secretly calls him Fang. Montgomery: When Windrusher is captured and taken to a shelter, he's renamed Montgomery by the shelter workers.
[edit] Lil' One
A small, young, multi-colored tabby who accompanies Windrusher on his journey until he finds himself a Hyskos home with a Hyskos family. He has no other names.
[edit] Scowl Down
An older, cantankerous female cat who accompanies Lil'One and Windrusher on part of their journey.
[edit] Scowl Down's other names
Daughter of Ana-luru-ru: Scowl Down's Mother's name. Scowl Down: Scowl Down's call name.
[edit] Swift Nail
A sly and manipulative female cat and the leader of a feral cat colony in a rotting warehouse where Windrusher, Lil'One, and Scowl Down stop to recuperate during their journey. She welcomes them into the warehouse, and seems to have designs on Windrusher. She has no other names besides her Call name: Swift Nail.
[edit] Bolt
An evil cat who acts as the enforcer at the feral cat colony. Bolt instantly hates Windrusher and secretly fears he'll take his place in the colony and with Swift Nail. A scarred veteran of many cat fights, Bolt has one lemon colored eye and his other eye is a white, sightless eye with "a viscous scum the color of rancid oil" dripping from it. He has no other names besides his call name: Bolt.
[edit] Silk Blossom
During his journey, Windrusher is beguiled by this red point Siamese he encounters in Charlotte. He's taken in by Silk Blossom's family, and he finally thinks he can forget about Kimmy and his other family and find happiness with Silk Blossom.
[edit] Silk Blossom's other names
Kalosisha-ulla: Silk Blossom in ancient cat language. Bitsy: Silk Blossom's name that her Hyskos call her. Daughter of Bast-Ma-at: Silk Blossom's Mother's name. Silk Blossom: Silk Blossom's call name.
[edit] Kimmy Tremble
Windrusher's young Hyskos owner. She's the reason Wind undertakes his difficult journey.
[edit] Gerry Tremble
Kimmy's father.
[edit] Amy Tremble
Kimmy's mother, Gerry's wife.
[edit] GT Tremble
Kimmy's brother. GT is his nickname.
[edit] Stacy Warren
Kimmy's cousin, whose family takes in Windrusher when the Trembles (Kimmy's family) decide not to take the cat with them when they move from Connecticut to Florida for Gerry's new job.
[edit] Secondary Characters
[edit] Libby Wilkens and her family
Young Libby entices Windrusher and Lil'One into their RV and takes them to the family dairy farm.
[edit] Linda and Lorene Hawkins
Twin sisters who live in an apartment near Keystone Heights, FL. The twins adopt Windrusher from the shelter, but he later escapes and continues his search.
[edit] Sarah Kilcrease
An old woman who takes in Windrusher and nurses him back to health. This takes place towards the end of the story, and Windrusher has come to care deeply for Sarah. He is with Sarah when a natural disaster striked the trailer park, leading to a deadly confrontation and the dramatic climax of the story.
[edit] The beliefs of the cats
Among the stories mother cats tell their kittens is the tale of the feline goddess, Irissa-u, and how she led the cats out of the jungles and into the Hyskos villages where they multiplied and spread across the earth. In the legend, Irissa-u chooses seven cats to follow her, and in his dreams, Windrusher sees himself as one of the followers. Two of the males went with Irissa-u to the stone kingdom in the desert where they were taken in and treated like holy ones. Of the rest of the followers, a pair was sent to the west, and a pair to the east to spread their kind among the Hyskos. Legend has it that one of the seven wandered off to never be heard from again. He was known as the lost follower. Windrusher says that his mother told him when the night globe (the moon) glowed it's brightest, sharp-eyed cats could see the Lost Follower searching for the Holy Mother, Irissa-u.
[edit] Cat Gods and Cat terms
[edit] Irissa-u
The Holy Mother, a cat goddess who led the seven followers from the jungles to the Hyskos cities. Many cats believe they are descended from the first disciples of Irissa-u.
[edit] Akhen-et-u
Otherwise known as the Inner Ear, allows cats to communicate in their deep sleep. Not all cats can do this, though. A Wetlos is a cat who is unable to plug into the Akhen-et-u. Lil'One is a Wetlos.
[edit] Buttworm
A cat insult.
[edit] Day Globe
The cat's term for sun, otherwise known as Rahhna.
[edit] Floppy eared snouter
A dog, and, when you say, "doesn't have the sense of a floppy-eared snouter", you refer to someone who has no sense at all.
[edit] Hairless Idea
A really, really bad idea.
[edit] Hwrt-Heru
The cat goddess of sleep. Also a maternal presence believed to renew the energies and spirts of cats while they're sleeping.
[edit] Night Globe
The Moon. Also known as a period of time: A month.
[edit] Nut-atna
The god of night. Sees the coming and going of night creatures.
[edit] Rahhna
Otherwise known as the Day Globe, the sun. Legend has it that the gods live on Rahhna.
[edit] Rahhnut
The keeper of Rahhna.
[edit] Setlos
A very bad and evil cat. Bolt is a Setlos.
[edit] Tho-hoth
The god of wisdom. He created the Inner Ear.
[edit] Wetlos
See Akhen-et-u.
[edit] Resources
Windrusher by Victor DiGenti, Copyright 2004 by Victor DiGenti. Published by Ocean Publishing, Flagler Beach, Florida.
