In his newest work, The Cat’s Table, Michael Ondaatje has written a novel that critics call his “most intimate yet.” The story, told in flashback, of three young boys making the journey from Ceylon to London on an ocean liner bears more than a passing resemblance to the author’s own story as a youth. The three boys — Michael, Cassius and Ramadhin — are relegated to the cat’s table, as far from the prestigious Captain’s table as they can get. Their dinner companions are the adults that do not quite fit in with the rest of the ship’s passengers. Between what they learn from their new friends and their nightly explorations of the ship, the boys discover a whole new world. Those experiences stay with them, molding them into the men who are seen when the narrative finds its way back to the present. Ondaatje reads from The Cat’s Table as a part of Inprint’s Margarett Root Brown Reading Series today at 7:30 p.m. University of Houston, 4800 Cullen. For in-formation, call 713-521-2026 or visit www.inprinthouston.org. Free to $5.

Mon., Oct. 10, 7:30 p.m., 2011

This article appears in Oct 6-12, 2011.