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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
**ETA: reread in 2016 for a challenge. Still love it.**
I don't even know where to begin with this one. This is a book that I won through Goodreads' First Reads program, and might be one of the best books I've ever come across. No, scratch that. It IS one of the best books I've ever come across. I laughed, I cried, I gripped the couch cushions in terror, I raged at the unfairness of people. In short, I ran the gamut of every emotion known to man while reading this book.
Homer is adopted as a blind kitten and quickly makes his new mom realize that she can't define him by his disability. You know there's a parallel right there, don't you? One of the quotations that hit me the hardest was when she said, "No one can tell you what your potential is." For Homer, his potential is endless. He doesn't know what it's like to see, so he can't assume that he's different. He attacks life with gusto, attempting the 6-foot leap from scratching post to closet shelf multiple times before he makes it. Nothing deters this little guy, and he's sure not going to let the blackness stop him.
Homer is the kind of cat who makes cat-lovers out of cat-haters. There's so much affection and love poured into his tiny body that the only way he can exist, it seems, is by sharing it with everyone and anyone. The one exception is the burglar who breaks into their apartment. Imagine a blind cat launching himself at a very large man like a mad banshee, and chasing said large man out and down the hall. Homer is bravery personified. (well, personified if he was a person. Maybe catified?)
The thing is, there are life lessons to be learned in this book. As the 'parent' of a disabled cat myself, I can see myself in Ms. Cooper. I never want anything to hurt my Pippin, yet I can't let myself hold her back. She was hit by a car several months ago, and hasn't ever recovered full mobility in her legs. She limps dreadfully, and people often look at us askance when they see her walking. I've even had people stop me and ask me if I know that my cat is injured. One kind little man offered to build us a scooter. So I understand some of what Ms. Cooper experiences with Homer and people's natural curiosity. I also understand what it means to let the disabled pet live their full potential without interference from Mom. It sometimes kills me to allow Pippin to go her merry way, but I know it would kill her to be confined. She's so naturally curious, and she's found all sorts of ways to accommodate her disability. I tell you what, when she runs, you can't tell there's anything wrong with her!
Homer is the same way, and I think that the similarities between him and my Pip made me get a lot more out of this than I might have otherwise. It makes me realize that I need to give people the same benefit of the doubt and allow them to live up to their potential. It makes me realize that unconditional love is the only way to go. It makes me realize that loving and being loved in return is a beautiful thing. It makes me so grateful for my beautiful Pippin and how much she loves her mommy. All in all, I think the biggest lesson that I'm taking away from this is that everyone, no matter who they are, has something wonderful to offer.
Please, read this book. Read this book and accept the challenge to be a little better.
I don't even know where to begin with this one. This is a book that I won through Goodreads' First Reads program, and might be one of the best books I've ever come across. No, scratch that. It IS one of the best books I've ever come across. I laughed, I cried, I gripped the couch cushions in terror, I raged at the unfairness of people. In short, I ran the gamut of every emotion known to man while reading this book.
Homer is adopted as a blind kitten and quickly makes his new mom realize that she can't define him by his disability. You know there's a parallel right there, don't you? One of the quotations that hit me the hardest was when she said, "No one can tell you what your potential is." For Homer, his potential is endless. He doesn't know what it's like to see, so he can't assume that he's different. He attacks life with gusto, attempting the 6-foot leap from scratching post to closet shelf multiple times before he makes it. Nothing deters this little guy, and he's sure not going to let the blackness stop him.
Homer is the kind of cat who makes cat-lovers out of cat-haters. There's so much affection and love poured into his tiny body that the only way he can exist, it seems, is by sharing it with everyone and anyone. The one exception is the burglar who breaks into their apartment. Imagine a blind cat launching himself at a very large man like a mad banshee, and chasing said large man out and down the hall. Homer is bravery personified. (well, personified if he was a person. Maybe catified?)
The thing is, there are life lessons to be learned in this book. As the 'parent' of a disabled cat myself, I can see myself in Ms. Cooper. I never want anything to hurt my Pippin, yet I can't let myself hold her back. She was hit by a car several months ago, and hasn't ever recovered full mobility in her legs. She limps dreadfully, and people often look at us askance when they see her walking. I've even had people stop me and ask me if I know that my cat is injured. One kind little man offered to build us a scooter. So I understand some of what Ms. Cooper experiences with Homer and people's natural curiosity. I also understand what it means to let the disabled pet live their full potential without interference from Mom. It sometimes kills me to allow Pippin to go her merry way, but I know it would kill her to be confined. She's so naturally curious, and she's found all sorts of ways to accommodate her disability. I tell you what, when she runs, you can't tell there's anything wrong with her!
Homer is the same way, and I think that the similarities between him and my Pip made me get a lot more out of this than I might have otherwise. It makes me realize that I need to give people the same benefit of the doubt and allow them to live up to their potential. It makes me realize that unconditional love is the only way to go. It makes me realize that loving and being loved in return is a beautiful thing. It makes me so grateful for my beautiful Pippin and how much she loves her mommy. All in all, I think the biggest lesson that I'm taking away from this is that everyone, no matter who they are, has something wonderful to offer.
Please, read this book. Read this book and accept the challenge to be a little better.
I absolutely adored this book.
I've read a few reviews lately that there has been a surge of pet-based literature after the triumphs of stories like Marley and Me, and that most of these tag-along books simply haven't been as good. Well, if that's true then I don't believe this to be simply another one of those books. Homer's Odyssey is beautiful and makes me fall in love with cats all over again.
The book focuses on the author's blind cat, Homer, but doesn't neglect to tell us all about her other two rescue cats, Vashti and Scarlett. The antics that little Homer gets into are hilarious and make you want to cheer for him, although Scarlett might say otherwise.
I have not invested so much emotion in a book in a long time; I'm only a little embarrassed to say that I cried very hard in two different points of the story.
Don't worry, though! This book avoids the annoyingly sappy ending; it's wonderful from beginning to end and definitely an excellent read for cat lovers.
I've read a few reviews lately that there has been a surge of pet-based literature after the triumphs of stories like Marley and Me, and that most of these tag-along books simply haven't been as good. Well, if that's true then I don't believe this to be simply another one of those books. Homer's Odyssey is beautiful and makes me fall in love with cats all over again.
The book focuses on the author's blind cat, Homer, but doesn't neglect to tell us all about her other two rescue cats, Vashti and Scarlett. The antics that little Homer gets into are hilarious and make you want to cheer for him, although Scarlett might say otherwise.
I have not invested so much emotion in a book in a long time; I'm only a little embarrassed to say that I cried very hard in two different points of the story.
Don't worry, though! This book avoids the annoyingly sappy ending; it's wonderful from beginning to end and definitely an excellent read for cat lovers.
I was expecting humorous anecdotes about a cat. What I got was a few interesting moments about a cat, but mostly a book about the author. Since the only really interesting thing about the author (in my view) was the cat, most of the book is a waste of time.
4.5 stars.
I loved the story of Gwen, how it followed her through her 20s and into her 30s, feeling more then a little lost at first, but marching on, always putting her cats first, until she's got it figured out (at least for now) by the end of the book. I need to look for a french edition of this; I have a sibling who doesn't read in English and who would relate so much to Gwen.
Also, how awesome is it to read a cat biography where the cat doesn't die at the end? (Although, God! That penultimate chapter was scary.)
I loved the story of Gwen, how it followed her through her 20s and into her 30s, feeling more then a little lost at first, but marching on, always putting her cats first, until she's got it figured out (at least for now) by the end of the book. I need to look for a french edition of this; I have a sibling who doesn't read in English and who would relate so much to Gwen.
Also, how awesome is it to read a cat biography where the cat doesn't die at the end? (Although, God! That penultimate chapter was scary.)
funny
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
While I loved Homer, Gwen Cooper just irritated me, and there was a hell of a lot of Gwen in this novel, when just a little bit more would have been more than enough.
Cat ladies! Particularly other cat ladies in your 20's: do not be afraid to be seen reading this book. Do not be embarrassed by it. It is about a woman who had three cats at the age of 25, yes, but not about how she can't wait to collect more or how she never leaves her apartment or how she pees in soda bottles or how the same animals will one day feed off of her rotting, lonely corpse.
It is about, broadly, how living with animals (each with a unique personality and needs) can change the way we think and act, how the long-term care of a pet helps us to grow up and define what traits in people are important to us. I've never seen that articulated so well before (and I will admit I probably haven't read enough pet memoirs since, oh, this is my first and all), but I realized that it's true.
Last year I fell in love with an art student who, when I asked what he liked to paint, thought for a moment and said, "My mom's cats." It was equal parts hilarious and sweet. A person I am spending some time with now, who may or may not be wanting more than friendship, made a first real impression on me when he liked some Facebook photos of my cats. Anyone can win me over by saying my cats are cute or wanting to meet my cats.
It has nothing to do with interest in cats equaling interest in me, but because I love my cats and value their individual quirks and personalities (Hugo's throaty warble-meow and insatiable desire for pettings or the way Tyrone wakes me up at 2 AM by bumping his head against me, purring and kneading my shoulder) as anyone would a child's. Sometimes I am a little embarrassed by how much of a cat lady I am. But I am not embarrassed to love Tyrone and Hugo like I do.
Cooper's blind cat Homer teaches her one of the most beautiful -- and simple -- life lessons I've read in a while, which is that when you meet a person or an animal with a fundamentally good and lovely core, you should make no excuses that keep you from building your life around theirs. Raising her curious, rambunctious, loyal, joyous blind cat Homer helped her to stop looking for a certain "look" in the men she dates, and start looking more at the core to find someone necessary. You know, I hate when memoirs that are by women but not "about" dating talk a lot about dating and men and relationships anyway, but that is most definitely a value I can get behind. Mazel tov!
It is about, broadly, how living with animals (each with a unique personality and needs) can change the way we think and act, how the long-term care of a pet helps us to grow up and define what traits in people are important to us. I've never seen that articulated so well before (and I will admit I probably haven't read enough pet memoirs since, oh, this is my first and all), but I realized that it's true.
Last year I fell in love with an art student who, when I asked what he liked to paint, thought for a moment and said, "My mom's cats." It was equal parts hilarious and sweet. A person I am spending some time with now, who may or may not be wanting more than friendship, made a first real impression on me when he liked some Facebook photos of my cats. Anyone can win me over by saying my cats are cute or wanting to meet my cats.
It has nothing to do with interest in cats equaling interest in me, but because I love my cats and value their individual quirks and personalities (Hugo's throaty warble-meow and insatiable desire for pettings or the way Tyrone wakes me up at 2 AM by bumping his head against me, purring and kneading my shoulder) as anyone would a child's. Sometimes I am a little embarrassed by how much of a cat lady I am. But I am not embarrassed to love Tyrone and Hugo like I do.
Cooper's blind cat Homer teaches her one of the most beautiful -- and simple -- life lessons I've read in a while, which is that when you meet a person or an animal with a fundamentally good and lovely core, you should make no excuses that keep you from building your life around theirs. Raising her curious, rambunctious, loyal, joyous blind cat Homer helped her to stop looking for a certain "look" in the men she dates, and start looking more at the core to find someone necessary. You know, I hate when memoirs that are by women but not "about" dating talk a lot about dating and men and relationships anyway, but that is most definitely a value I can get behind. Mazel tov!
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced