Story Behind The Book
Are you a happy middling? “Haee and the other middlings” book series provides an insightful and delightful read at what it means to be functioning, breathing and living as we are today. Middling Industries offers its most acclaimed series “Haee and the other middlings”, taking a meaningful jab at the middle class of the 21st century. Created and written by R.S. Vern, one of today’s most serious social bloggers, this series of books skillfully explores issues on needs versus wants, the pointlessness of pursuit and the contradictions of living with and without rules, all through the ingenious eyes of a cat. Entertaining and insightful, this series of books is beautifully illustrated with thought provoking allegories suitable for older children and adults. R.S. Vern takes a simplistic view through her protagonist, cat Haee, clearly showing you how aimless and lost we are in the midst of making sense of our surrounding material environment. Scathing, but fair, cat Haee is as ordinary, average and conventional as it gets. But he deeply reflects the insecure and non-committal persona present in many of us today. R.S. Vern’s simple and lucid tale is not so poetic, perhaps less intense, but likely to last following the likes of Edward Gorey and Shel Silverstein. “Haee The cat with a crooked tail”, the first book of this series is the winner of IndieReader Discovery Awards 2013 under kid’s category.
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Reviews
<p class="paragraph_style_1" style="padding-top:0pt;">“Bittersweet and seemingly simple, this story embodies the ambivalence the author feels about an average, middle-class existence – possibly mundane, yes, but reassuring in its certainties and not without its own joys.” - <a class="class1" href="http://www.ilovebooks.com/ebooks/home/804A59D9-983C-451F-874A-4946D1676296/Haee_The_cat_with_a_crooked_tail" title="http://www.ilovebooks.com/ebooks/home/804A59D9-983C-451F-874A-4946D1676296/Haee_The_cat_with_a_crooked_tail"><span>ilovebooks.com</span></a></p> <p class="paragraph_style_2"><span class="style_1" style="line-height:17px;">“While “The Unconventional Life of Haee” is bold in its attempt to tackle serious issues of conservation, group dynamics and the importance of hygiene in the work place, it is not a classic in the canon of illustrated kid’s fiction. However, it does provide a welcome chuckle, even to the most hardened reader.” -</span> <span class="style_2" style="line-height:17px;">Julia Lai, </span><a class="class2" href="http://indiereader.com/2013/12/the-unconventional-life-of-haee/" title="http://indiereader.com/2013/12/the-unconventional-life-of-haee/"><span class="style_3" style="line-height:17px;">IndieReader</span></a><br /><br /><span class="style_1" style="line-height:17px;">“R.S. Vern has captured the tone of urban life with perfect pitch. Boring, thrilling, life-affirming and threatening all at the same time, Vern's books shake us out of our daily routines and forces us to re-examine why we're living as we are. This is an author of the post-capitalist, post-colonial era we find ourselves navigating, with rigid career courses but adrift nonethesame." - </span><span class="style_2" style="line-height:17px;">Auden Whitbeck, Middling</span></p> <p class="paragraph_style_2"><span class="style_1" style="line-height:17px;">“HAEE is a beautifully illustrated and thought-provoking modern-day allegory suitable for older children and grown-ups alike.” - </span><span class="style_2" style="line-height:17px;">Maya Fleischmann, </span><a class="class3" href="http://indiereader.com/2013/02/haee-the-cat-with-a-crooked-tail/" title="http://indiereader.com/2013/02/haee-the-cat-with-a-crooked-tail/"><span class="style_3" style="line-height:17px;">IndieReader</span></a><br /><br /><span class="style_1" style="line-height:17px;">“This is an interesting book, focusing on the ideas of need versus want, what is self-fulfillment and exploring our motivations.....I suspect it is one of those books that you can turn to again and again and find different things, dependent upon your mood.” - </span><span class="style_2" style="line-height:17px;">Sarah Burns, </span><a class="class4" href="http://akindleandkittens.wordpress.com/2013/02/19/r-s-vern-two-ebook-reviews/" title="http://akindleandkittens.wordpress.com/2013/02/19/r-s-vern-two-ebook-reviews/"><span class="style_3" style="line-height:17px;">The Kindle Book Review</span></a><br /><br /><span class="style_1" style="line-height:17px;">“...the book resonates strongly with adults. As children, they are allowed to roam free and explore the world. As grown-ups, they must abide to stringent schedules and deadlines, while constantly running the risk of feeling mechanical. Haee's excursions will not only capture the imagination of children, but will also get a laugh out of adults as they anticipate the release of the next book in the Haee series.” - </span><a class="class5" href="http://www.theusreview.com/reviews/Haee-Vern.html#.URIAXehJOt8" title="http://www.theusreview.com/reviews/Haee-Vern.html#.URIAXehJOt8"><span class="style_3" style="line-height:17px;">US Review of Books</span></a><br /><br /><span class="style_1" style="line-height:17px;">“Are we not as happy as those who are much better off in this world?” After this statement I was hooked! Then seeing that first cat just blew me away! I love all the artwork!” - </span><span class="style_2" style="line-height:17px;">Jessica Porter, </span><a class="class6" href="http://readersfavorite.com/review/7689" title="http://readersfavorite.com/review/7689"><span class="style_3" style="line-height:17px;">Readers Favourite</span></a><br /><br /><span class="style_1" style="line-height:17px;">"The author provokes us into thinking outside the box. She wants us to ask: "Is that it? Is that what life is all about? Being perfect? Doing all the politically correct things and having it all?" Sure looks good on the surface ... but the illustrations show otherwise.</span></p> <p class="paragraph_style_2"><span class="style_1" style="line-height:17px;">I like how she combines illustrations and words. I would say the illustrations tell an equally, if not more, compelling story of the ironic messages she is trying to convey. A picture means more than a thousand words, people say. How clever of her!</span></p> <p class="paragraph_style_2"><span class="style_1" style="line-height:17px;">I recommend this book to everyone: young adults who are about to embark on their journey of life and adults who outwardly think they have got it all but are unhappy inside. The presentation and approach in this remarkable book is simple and clear enough for children and teens to benefit from it, too!" - </span><a class="class7" href="http://www.allbooksreviewint.com/ReviewShowcase.html" title="http://www.allbooksreviewint.com/ReviewShowcase.html"><span class="style_3" style="line-height:17px;">Allbooks Review International</span></a></p> <p class="paragraph_style_1">“The plot bears features of an allegory, as it contains several levels of understanding. "The Unconventional Life of Haee" can be read and enjoyed as a simple tale woven around an alley-cat, although it has a deeper layer of ideas inter-twined in it. The themes are not made lessons. They are presented just as parts of the world it describes.” - <span class="style_5">Gayani Hathurusingha, </span><a class="class8" href="http://readersfavorite.com/review/7967" title="http://readersfavorite.com/review/7967">Readers Favorite</a><br /><br /> “...features the adventures of a black cat, told in text with voice overs and animations.” - <span class="style_5">The Straits Times</span><br /><br /> “How does one leave a middling – that is, average – life behind? And what does an unconventional existence look like?” - <span class="style_5">ilovebooks.com</span></p>