Jesse Ball's new novel, Samedi the Deafness, is about Ansilon the imaginary owl and a lame-legged cat named Xerxes, Cavendish, Benvolio, or Mephisto alternately. The two spend their unlikely friendship on dead-end docks, catching the strains of carnival music for a respite from the obligations of consciousness.
Or perhaps no, not at all. But in Ball's world, nothing should be trusted ...