A review by misspalah
From the Belly of the Cat by Stephanie Ye

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I don't own a cat and I suspect I never will. There's a post that circulates in the bowels of the Internet that basically ends with the punchline, "I think that 'I think you're incompetent and I don't want you to starve' is the maximum level of love a cat is able to give." That level of aloofness does not endear them to me (nor me to them, I suspect). But I am glad they are in my life. I am glad they are in everyone's lives.

• J.Y. Yang , Tiger Baby  : From the belly of the cat edited by Stephanie Ye

I love that this book included ‘about the writer’ and ‘about my relationship with cats’ at the end of each story. It added depth and connection as to why those stories was written in such manner. I am glad ‘That Fat Cat, Ate Dad’s Hat’ is placed at the end of the compilation because it was such a good story. It is simple yet capturing the belief that cat was blessed with 9 lives - either they came back stronger and uninjured or they were reborn to be different cat. For this particular story, the author decided to go with the second route. ‘Waiting for william’ might not be  everyone’s favourite but they are exactly how i imagined cats carry their conversation with each other. Being the little troll and unserious creatures that they are, they will do whatever they want and we humans particularly those who love cats will enjoy their shenanigans and foolish acts. ‘Visiting’ story, on another hand, showed that cat has long been a source of comfort. One could never understand cat unless you have lived with them. Through cat, they offered sanctuary, safety and security. Its hard to believe that such feisty creature capable of offering those things but they are indeed. Overall, i would say i really enjoy this book even with the stories that i dont really like or get in the first reading BUT thematically, putting cat as the centre of the plot is such a wholesome combo. I cried, I mourned, I was mesmerised, i chuckled and i was in awe how well these writers nailed cats behavior and attitude in these stories. I love love love this book because i just love cat. But if cat is not your vibe, you might skip this book. 

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P/s : For those who are undecided or claimed to dislike or never like cat, you never know you are a cat person until cat distribution system strikes you and now you are stuck with one of them.