A lighthearted, sincere story of appreciating the simple aspects of life after loss.
In this memoir written in third person, a widowed woman finds comfort and solace from her new relationship with a feline friend.
After losing her husband, Barrett (First Love: Just Once in a Lifetime, 2011) vowed to never allow herself to become attached to others for fear of experiencing more loss. She made no exception for animals. However, she found herself looking forward to seeing a little, orange-striped cat on her porch each morning. Living alone in the Ontario home she once shared with her husband, Barrett slowly began to welcome the companionship of the cheerful cat. Barrett tried to keep her emotional distance by only referring to him generically as “Cat” (perhaps a wink to Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s). Never before a “cat person,” Barrett foresaw no risk of attachment from simply feeding the cat. Yet gradually, she became more attached to the animal and found herself missing him when he was away. Subsequently, she began to domesticate the untamed cat. Perhaps since Barrett hadn’t been a cat person, she began the domestication process with leash training and field trips to the beach. In this story, she marvels at the cleverness and uniqueness of her cat but spares readers most of the mundane details about its habits; instead, in polished and clear prose, she focuses on how he affected her life, making for a more relatable story than most in the cat-book category. As Barrett’s bond with the cat developed, she also built connections with other cat owners, and though the pain of her husband’s loss remained, her loneliness abated, and her desire to connect with others was restored. The heartfelt story will, of course, especially appeal to those who cherish the companionship of cats or other animals, but Barrett’s underlying story of recuperation and the restoration of hope may resonate with readers who have also experienced loss. Color photos, most slightly manipulated with a painterly filter, round out the comforting book.
A lighthearted, sincere story of appreciating the simple aspects of life after loss.Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4840-9221-7
Page Count: 148
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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