Homer’s Odyssey - Gwen Cooper

 nother Christmas gift from friends bold enough to take the risk that I hadn’t already read this book. I hadn’t. But I have read it now and I’m glad I have. I’ve always been a book lover but I’ve also always been a cat lover. It’s only my age, infirmities and living on a very busy road that stops me taking on some more cats. So my friends knowing of my love of cats and books decided this would be the perfect gift.

It’s a memoir. The author is a cat lover and the book centres around her decision to take on a blind kitten. She had two cats already. I saw the story as a parallel between her life and the life of this tenacious little kitten who overcame his disability to live a full and exuberant life. The book starts with the author nursing a broken heart and challenging finances. She learnt a great deal from observing this extraordinary cat navigate his way through life. Gwen Cooper was living in Miami when Homer first came into her life but by the end of the book she is living in New York. I found the sections where she’s recently moved to Manhattan very moving, and fascinating for the street she initially lived on was the street I lived in for a month when I was in New York way back in early 2000. And she was probably living there when I was there.  I may even have passed her by. I may even have been a stones throw from Little Homer and his companion cats, Vashti and Scarlett. But the part that was really moving was the authors description of 9/11. That particular street was right by the World Trade Centre and the author describes the way she used the twin towers to navigate her way through Manhattan, just as I did.

It’s an uplifting book because it tells of success. It tells of dealing with problems and obstacles. Doesn’t matter whether you’re a cat or a person! There is humour in it. There is some sadness in it. But most of all there’s love.

Yes, it’s a book for cat lovers for sure. I defy any cat lover not to love it. The author loves her cats and there is very much a sense of ‘love me love my cats’ in it which all cat lovers will identify with. Probably dog lovers too? But it has a broader appeal I think in terms of looking at somebody who manages to turn their life around and find contentment. The writing style is relaxed and easy. So one level it’s a undemanding book. But on another level it offers you a lot of food for thought.