CATS DON'T CARE FOR MONEY

Christiane Rochefort, always a voice of independent protest (The Century ChiLdren; A Warrior's Rest), gives a His and Her account of a shortlived marriage with a certain spiky, cynical charm. In the beginning there is Philippe who wants to Help her and Protect her and-- Change her; Celine until then has lived a life of casual vagabondage. A cat who doesn't care for money and dislikes her bourgeois background, she is not easily housebroken and before long the philistine problems of connubial life (the right curtains, the right clothes) ruff her fur the wrong way. Midway in this colloquy she reaches a definition of love: ""for a woman, total dedication to domestic life, with night service."" Even the night service becomes a matter of indifference. And by the close she is relievedly ""at last alone"" and free.... The tone is casual, intimate, shrewd, and the intent is to needle not only the boredom of the interpersonal relationship here but also the meaninglessness of a mundane world of sports cars and designer dresses.