'This book has that miraculous ability to transport you that all good books should have. It's a charming East-meets-West tale that is funny, poignant, engaging and delicious.'
John Mitchell, Byron Bay Echo
'Jørgensen’s narrative is oh so evocative as she describes textures and details of elaborately woven saris, the aromas and techniques surrounding Mrs Begum’s cooking … and the scenes depicting Munni’s creative spells. Enthralling descriptions you can just sink into. The warmth mixes effortlessly with many touches of humour as Jørgensen takes her readers through the haphazard exploits of this family. Verdict? Thoroughly enjoyable.'
Emma Perry, Coping with Jane
‘Occasionally you love a book so much that it’s difficult to close the door on its world. Cat & Fiddle by Lesley Jørgensen – with its warm, evocative and hysterically funny story – is such a book.’ FIVE STARS
Good Reading
'Jørgensen's narrative skilfully juggles the points of view of nine characters as the action veers entertainingly from high comedy to moments of touching reflection and revelation'
Deborah Bogle, Herald Sun
'Jørgensen skillfully reconstructs the minutiae of family life in a Bangladeshi household, including the food, the rituals of daily life and the saris ... a delightful and irresistible family saga written in a style that is engaging, and imbued with a gentle humour.'
CHITRA SUDARSHAN, Indian Link
'It’s easy to see why Jørgensen’s debut will delight and charm. Her eye for cultural and social detail, dialogue and comedy is sharp and wry. All the characters are just the right amount of familiar and new ... With its outward eye, this is a brave book for Jørgensen to have written, observant and reaching.'
Jessica Au, Readings Monthly
'Cat & Fiddle is a big-hearted, clamorous comedy of East-meets-West ... a free-spirited feast of a book'
Sunday Age
'A delightful modern comedy of manners complete with all the necessary wit, misunderstandings, grasping social climbing, and truths disguised ... Reminiscent of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest or P.G Wodehouse, this is a clever, accomplished novel that had me re-reading passages for the sheer pleasure of laughing out loud again.'
Meredith Jaffe, The Hoopla
'Jørgensen moves [the characters'] stories forward in smart, entertaining episodes that, in shifting third person focalisation, step easily between them ... a very entertaining read.'
David Sornig, The Melbourne Review
'Lesley Jørgensen explores the lives [of her characters] with exquisite sensitivity and delicious irony ... [her] benevolent storytelling has a whimsical surface on which the most commonplace happenings are greeted with something like wonder ... a remarkable accomplishment.'
Michael McGirr, The Saturday Age
'Read Cat and Fiddle for its own sake, not because it owes a debt to Jane Austen or any other forerunner ... you won’t want it to finish."
Gillian Dooley, Transnational Literature
'Jørgensen writes beautifully of the clash of cultures ... a satisfying and engaging read.'
Bethanie Blanchard, Weekend Australian
'Jorgensen steps so adroitly in and out of the heads of these wonderful characters that it's as if she's at your shoulder, the perfect travelling companion on the novel's journey: chatty, warm, compassionate and funny. An exuberant debut, bubbling with energy and insight.'
Cate Kennedy
‘This charming story of love and family and class and religion is not just for Austen fans – it’s utterly irresistible.’
Toni Jordan
