Reviewed by Jeanne
The guy in the blue
truck seemed surprised that a middle aged woman in a gray coat would hold up
traffic, but I enjoyed that momentary feeling of power.
When Anne Kaier sees the orange lump of fur in the road, she
carefully drives over it, not wanting to be the one to further desecrate the
body. When she looks in her rear view mirror and sees the tail move, she turns
around and goes back. She intends to
just move the body out of the road, but when she feels the warmth behind his
ears she takes him to her vet instead.
As it turns out, the cat isn’t badly injured. He is, however, nearly feral, but Anne has
committed herself to him. She dubs him Henry, and takes him home where he hides
in her spare bedroom. Her resident cat, Lucille, doesn’t seem to mind the
newcomer but is happy to still have Anne to herself. Anne is determined to try to break through to
her new addition. She spends time in the
room reading aloud, coaxes him with treats, and finally starts dismantling his
little world in an effort to force him out.
This is a slim little book, but one that’s difficult to
characterize. It’s definitely not a “how
to” book, nor is it a rapturous celebration of all things feline. It’s mostly a gentle, thoughtful book about
an older, still single woman succeeding on her own terms. It’s not maudlin, it’s not strident, and it’s
not a cry in the wilderness. It’s about
relationships, trust, and being comfortable in your own skin, though the author
makes all these points without preaching or pontificating or navel-gazing. I was not surprised when I checked the author’s
bio to find she is an award-winning essayist and a poet. She writes cleanly and well. At only 102 pages, she covers a lot of
territory but in a painless way. The
book is written as a journal, and I was interested to see what each day would
bring.
I enjoyed my visit with Anne and with Henry. I would like a
chance to visit with them again.
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