*WARNING: THIS POST GIVES AWAY THE PLOT OF NEVER LET ME GO. IF YOU INTEND TO READ IT, AND WANT TO BE SURPRISED WHEN YOU DO, STOP READING NOW.*
I run a book club at school, and we have just read the fabulous Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. If you haven’t read it, DO believe the hype. It’s written in an approachable and, dare I say it, almost mundane style, yet the story is gripping.
Naturellement, the discussion in the club turned to cloning, its place in society and the surrounding ethical issues. One of my students then piped up, “You can buy cloned cats now!”
Me: “Are you sure? I mean, I imagine it’s possible to clone cats, but I doubt if the general public can buy them commercially.”
Our good friend Google confirmed that the kid was right, and I was wrong.
Many questions ensued, but this was my favourite:
“Miss, what if the first few clonings go wrong before you get it right? What happens to the weird wrong cats afterwards?”
All of a sudden, things make sense. My initial concern regarding this topic was the idea of multiple Louis Catorzes, but now I realise that he must have been one of the weird wrong cats produced by accident.
I considered the idea of a Zoom call with Catorze during the session, to help the kids to understand what life is like with a weird wrong cat. However, one or two of them met him during our lockdown online lessons, so they probably already know. (Oh yes: the now-Year 13s who were around during lockdown have some Catorzian stories to tell.)
If the little sod’s behaviour isn’t enough to convince you that he is one of the weird wrong cats – and if you still don’t believe it after all this evidence, then there’s something wrong with you – maybe these photos will?
louiscatorze.com 
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