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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
What an incredible cat. He didn't let anyone, or anything, stand in his way, and never compromised his principles. Any cat lover will recognize the sheer bloodymindedness cats can have at times, and will love to see how Homer turned inbuilt feline stubbornness into something that brought light to all the people around him.
I'm struggling with my rating for this one. I'm somewhere between 3 and 4 stars. The book was fairly well-written as far as memoirs go, and Cooper nailed "cat language." As a fellow cat lover and someone who has grown up around cats, I know how much joy (and sometimes irritation and worry) owning a cat brings. I could feel those emotions in her writing. But, as much as I loved the stories about Homer and the author's other cats, there are only so many things you can say about cats without becoming repetitive, which might explain why the book dragged a bit in places. Overall, I did enjoy the narrative and can understand why this book has done so well. Homer truly does sound like a Wonder Cat.
This is the sweet story about an extraordinary cat who greets life with exuberance and affection for his people. Sadly, towards the end of the book, his owner's anxiety started to get on my nerves. When her cats are left alone for two days in the wake of 9/11, because her apartment is blocks from Ground Zero, she tries frantically to get to them. Luckily, a pet sitter had access to her apartment and is able to get to them before she can cajole her way through the barriers, so they are fine. Really, they are fine. But oh the drama and histrionics! When she finally gets to them, she carries on as if she had been on a careless drunken bender. 'I will never leave you again' she wails. Come on. Get over yourself. 'I will never let anything happen to you again'. Really? How are you going to manage that?
This book reminded me bitter-sweetly of the beautiful black cat who I lost in July that changed my life and taught me about love. Homer is a soul I believe that God placed on this Earth for a reason and the way the author portrayed his life is clear that no one can understand her babies the way she does. This was a book that made me laugh out loud and cry real tears, and made me thankful for the furry friends that I have been lucky enough to love in my life. I suggest this book for any cat, or animal, lover like me!
Reading this for book club. At 13% completed, were I to stop reading and review now, I'd say it's a "did not like it." While I'm sure Homer was adorable, I'm finding the tone of the writing to be tedious. For example, there's a line that reads "Leaving a pair of discarded shoes or a wet umbrella on the floor went from being an act of carelessness to bordering on animal abuse." Seriously?
Update at 29%. After pondering for a bit, I think I've figured out why I'm not enjoying this. She's romanticized Homer's kitten-hood to the point of fiction. That rubs me the wrong way (pun intended). It also feels overwritten - she's trying too hard, and it's not working for me. I'm anxious to be finished so I can move on to better fictional writing.
@36% - oh my lord, how I hate this book. Should make for an excellent book club discussion.
From Chapter 13 forward, it wasn't as horrible. I feel like she stopped trying so hard to be a good writer and told the story. There were a couple of times I rolled my eyes in the last half of the book, but I wasn't consistently disgusted with it the way I was with the first half.
It did raise a point I'd never considered - I've always been mindful of the pain and mourning of members of the families left behind after 9/11, but can't say I ever thought about the pets left behind.
Update at 29%. After pondering for a bit, I think I've figured out why I'm not enjoying this. She's romanticized Homer's kitten-hood to the point of fiction. That rubs me the wrong way (pun intended). It also feels overwritten - she's trying too hard, and it's not working for me. I'm anxious to be finished so I can move on to better fictional writing.
@36% - oh my lord, how I hate this book. Should make for an
From Chapter 13 forward, it wasn't as horrible. I feel like she stopped trying so hard to be a good writer and told the story. There were a couple of times I rolled my eyes in the last half of the book, but I wasn't consistently disgusted with it the way I was with the first half.
It did raise a point I'd never considered - I've always been mindful of the pain and mourning of members of the families left behind after 9/11, but can't say I ever thought about the pets left behind.
I really, really liked this book. I thought it was much better written and much more interesting than Dewey, which I read a while ago. I found Homer to be a delightful cat, and Gwen seemed to be a likable cat guardian to whom I could easily relate. I found her narrative well-written, and I could not stop reading it. This is probably the best GoodReads "first reads" I've read so far.
Gwen Cooper adopted Homer when he was a tiny cute little ball of fur. She didn't set out wanting another cat, but Homer needed a home and no one else seemed willing to take on a cat who was completely blind. Homer's Odessey is the story of how Homer adjusted to his life with Gwen and how she fit her life to his. It's part animal story and part autobiography.
The first chapters were interesting and engaging, but the pacing was a bit slow. Later chapters dragged for me. While I found Homer interesting, it wasn't enough to really keep my interest and the autobiography portion of the story didn't catch me at all.
I think animal lovers and those who've read books like Dewey the Library Cat or Marley & Me would enjoy this book far more than I did. I'll definitely be passing it on to one of my friends who's read every animal book she get her hands on and I'm sure she'll love it.
The first chapters were interesting and engaging, but the pacing was a bit slow. Later chapters dragged for me. While I found Homer interesting, it wasn't enough to really keep my interest and the autobiography portion of the story didn't catch me at all.
I think animal lovers and those who've read books like Dewey the Library Cat or Marley & Me would enjoy this book far more than I did. I'll definitely be passing it on to one of my friends who's read every animal book she get her hands on and I'm sure she'll love it.
A cute cat memoir. If you're the kind of person who likes cat memoirs. Which I am.
(Homer's no Dewey, but he is a pretty awesome blind cat)
(Homer's no Dewey, but he is a pretty awesome blind cat)
I’m a cat lady, I have three, two of them rescues so I’m always drawn to a cat book, although I find them a bit hit and miss if I’m honest. But who couldn’t love Homer, he sounds like a right character, although I’m well aware that cats with disabilities can have a perfectly happy and complete life and Homer is a great example of this. At times the book felt a bit rambling but there were parts that just got me, the aftermath of 9/11 and trying to get back to her apartment being one example. I’m not normally a crier at book, films yes, but not books. I can probably count on one hand the books that made me shed a tear, but this one got me a little. I’d like to think it just caught me on a low day (and who isn’t having the odd one of those right now) but I'm not so sure.
As a pet parent to three cats, I get it and the author describes it all perfectly. Homer sounded like an awesome cat, and Gwen put into writing what I think all the time -- that I've learned so many things about life from my cats. It sounds hokey, but it's undeniably true. Highly recommend.