Book Review : The Caticles

Title:


The Caticles: Short Stories and Poems for the Cat Lover








Author:



Hayley Shaver, Keith Shaver








Publisher:


Self





Release Date:


5.6.14





Format:


.pdf





Pages:


80





Source:


Gifted from the Author

The heartwarming collection of stories based Keith and Hayley's real life pets. The cute and charming short stories will make your imagination take flight as you witness firsthand how pets see life in their eyes. Everyday tasks that you and I take for granted turn into feats of adventure for these curious felines. The inspirational poetry will win over your heart and promises to never be forgotten. This book will find a permanent place inside your heart.

Good afternoon everyone. Today finds me trying to catch up on some of the books that I have said I would review. It is a slow process, but I am working my way through the “pile” as I work more on Pandemonix.

My feline overlord, Loki, decided he wanted some attention, and much like a good human owner that he is, he is persistent.

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The book that I will be reviewing today is called Caticles: Short Stories and Poems for the Cat Lover. I have been eagerly looking forward to reading this book, as I am a massive fan of T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, as well as the musical that is based on the book.

The Caticles: Short Stories and Poems for the Cat Lover

Book Review: I initially chose to review Caticles because I loved stories based upon the antics of animals. I think it is natural to wonder what our pet is doing when we are not around. What is the dog doing when we go to dinner? What possesses a cat to run around at four in the morning?

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“You should know that Milo — I hear the human say all the time that she will be shipping you to China any day now.” Cleo comes into the room her long black fur now visible in the low light. (The Caticles: Page 7).

Upon opening the book, I noticed that Shaver added a bit of advice to the care of our furry family members. The advice is sound, and most of the problematic behavior that is associated with cats comes from a misunderstanding of the animal, and it reminds me of something that you would hear from Jackson Galaxy. However, the advice section quickly turns humorous as it is from the cat’s perspective.

The short stories revolve around four cats, and each of these cats is owned by the Shavers. As with any animal, each cat has their individual personality. It is these characteristics that the authors pursue throughout the anthology.

Although I enjoyed the interactions of the cats, the pacing seems to be set too quick for me. Also, I feel the writing is repetitive. For example, the word string in the following paragraph felt repeated. For once Cleo is not interested in the food, but in the string. She just has to try to catch the string. Maybe her owner would praise her for a job well done. She is imagining placing the string on her pillow as a present to her owner. (The Caticles, Page 11).

My favorite character was Cleo. I felt horrible for the cat in a particular part of the anthology being stuck there with her nemesis, and the character that I loved to dislike was Milo.

I would recommend The Caticles to anyone who loves to read about the personification of cats.

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General: ✯✯✯ 1/2

Theme :  ✯✯✯✯

Characters:  ✯✯✯ 1/2

Actual Total of Stars: 3.8 (A decent read)

To support your neighborhood cats, please consider donating to your local ASPCA or SPCA.

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