A very different cat memoir than what I am used to, this book does not shy away from the most disturbing aspects of taking care of many cats when they haven't been neutered or spayed.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2994694896

I wrote a review of this book on Goodreads, not being aware that I can send it to Goodreads from here. I have posted the link, but will in future post my review on this site and then send it.. By my one star rating, it is obvious I did not like the book, but there is certainly more in my review. I would like to thank the publisher for allowing me to review the book and perhaps the next one will be more gratifying. Unfortunately, I am unable to cut and paste with this computer. It is Windows 10. What can I say?

With thanks to Norton and Net Galley for this advanced reader's copy


Czech writer Bohumil Hrabal suffers under the Soviet regime and this work may best be appreciated by students of history or of psychology. It details the care he gives to a colony of feral cats and begins with the kind of tender and familiar details cat lovers everywhere will appreciate. However, the author grapples with depression and commits terrible (and graphically described) acts of violence against the cats he claims to love. He imagines that the feral colony is better for his presence (he feeds them) but it felt to me as though he was luring in domestic creatures only to destroy them - and then write about his sins. Those interested in the psychological workings of guilt may enjoy this work, but animal lovers (and those who lack a stomach for animal torture) are well advised to avoid it. I wish the cover and description had been more clear about its contents; I know it will stay with me for a long time... and make me grateful that the animals in my life did not cross paths with a Hrabal or his like.

I saw this cover and thought it would be a book for cat lovers; I personally am a cat lover, and cat books are popular with lots of our patrons. I read reviews and learned that this book is a little too gruesome for cat lovers, so I plan to avoid it. The cover could probably indicate that a little better.