A review by sammiseah
All My Cats by Bohumil Hrabal

dark emotional fast-paced

4.5

My favourite fact about Bohumil Hrabal is that he died falling from a window of a hospital, apparently because he was trying to feed the pigeons. But his friends don’t think so and believe that it was a suicide. So yes, he was that eccentric. And now you know what to expect from this book.

This is a story of this eccentric writer’s relationship with a community of cats that he cared for in his weekend cottage at Kersko - how he becomes overwhelmed by the cats - by the love that feels for them, the anger and resentment that they cause and the guilt and despair that he eventually feels towards himself. 

So much of the book resonated with me. From his wife exclaiming “What are we going to do with all those cats?” every chapter, to the fact that he called two beloved cat sisters Blackie and Socks, to the sheer despondency that he frequently felt about his cats. I feel like every community cat feeder would probably laugh (and cry) at his portrayal of his interactions with the cats.

And then it got dark. (Cue for community cat feeders to stop reading lol.) I won’t spoil the book for you, but I’m glad that the dark parts don’t resonate that much with me. His contemplations about life, fate and justice are beautifully written (as always) and a pleasure to read. 

PS Sterilize your cats.