Cat People

by Devapriya Roy

In Karachi, a writer house-sits for her father and his cat, while keeping track of his - the cat’s - list of  ironed white sheets, kheer, KFC fries, warm custard, finely chopped sausages, and the flaky tops of chicken patties. In San Francisco, a couple adopt a cat, without anticipating what it will do to their relationship. In Noida, a cat and two dogs line up peacefully every morning for their daily dose of vitamin syrup. In Bombay, a lyricist and screenwriter roots through the litter tray first thing in the morning, to investigate if his cat’s UTI is better. In wintry London, a young millennial wonders if she is actually a cat.

Capturing the many moods of felines and their humans, in many forms and voices, Cat People, is a timely celebration of the most memed creature the cat.  This collection of short stories, personal essays, lists, original art and photographs is are a treat, not just for cat lovers everywhere, but for all who love a story well-told – and, on occasion, a theory well-spun. 

Genres: Nonfiction

343 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 22, 2021

Reviews

[shroo M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally the meme stars get their fair share of attention! If you are a cat parent or not or just a pet parent, 100% recommend reading this book. It's one of those books that will make you smile, chuckle, sob and go "hard relate". And while each piece has different nuances to itself, all in all the book is great comfort company. 😺

[Monika · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars but Goodreads rating get extra :)

Sweet stories of people with cats

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good collection by various authors for the cat lovers and I liked it.

Somehow I would say this collection is more suitable for Indian readers and we would be able to enjoy it more considering the connection between the mentioned cultures and beliefs.

[Caroline · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF'ed at page 104.

I want to love this book so much, and I simply don't. I can't

There's a couple of reasons I simply cannot finish this. Many of them, I think, have to do with the editor. Some of the short stories I really enjoyed, others didn't really speak to me. Overall I was missing a red thread connecting the stories. A preface or a short introduction to each story would have been great, and is something the last anthology of short stories I read greatly benefited from. Additionally, the editor has chosen to shorten many names to simply letters; A said this, T did that, and S did not appreciate it. I don't know if this was done to protect the privacy of each individual author, or as a personal preference - either way, it severely reduces reading flow.

This next part is difficult, and yet I find it important to address.

The book is very Indian, and it hurts the experience for uneducated readers about Indian culture, like myself. Many terms, from names and locations to food and feelings, are thrown around without any context or explanation.

I want to know. To learn. I want to educate myself, to appreciate the opportunity of learning something my background never provided. However, when looking up 10-15 terms per page -most having no direct translation-, the reading immersion is completely broken. Alternatively, when not looking up anything at all and rather hoping context will teach, confusion is inevitable. In an unfortunate turn of events, the book almost gatekeeps Indian culture - which is such a shame, because I'm sure this was absolutely not the intention by neither the authors nor the editor.

It does get an additional star because some of the short stories were genuinely interesting, and one even made me cry. I found quotes from many of the short stories which touched me deeply.

🌸 Full review can be found on my bookstagram: @softcover_cat_reads 🌸

[Tejasdeep Singh Sehgal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I may or may not be biased (ifykyk) but this might just be one of my fave and cutest booked I've read this year. Detailed review tomorrow (or technically, today) – so many books I've read but haven't updated reviews for, but I'll catch up soon. Till then, read this <3

[Rinaya · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of stories from cat parents, people around cats and even people who don't always like cats. Being a cat Mom myself it was difficult to complete this book, I frequently cried and then proceeded to go find my cats and hug them much their chagrin.
But I am so glad I picked this book up, it's my first time reading so much literature on cats! I even found one story which we had read in school as a part of our Hindi lessons- Prayaschit.
I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone who's ever been a pet parent and basically an animal lover. Even those who aren't will enjoy the stories nevertheless.

[Aashi · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5*
I went into this book with high expectations because I'm a huge cat lover but i was disappointed and often shocked. I'll admit that some of the stories are indeed sweet but there were others where I questioned the editors' decisions. I also found a spelling error in the book which further added to my annoyance. Some of the stories felt unnecessarily long and they seemed to go nowhere, and their writing wasn't particularly interesting either so I questioned why they were included at all. Sometimes it felt like some stories were included just because they had a brief mention of a cat (I was really confused as to why a story about a dog was there at all?). Moreover the mentions of cats being killed or being subjected to cruelty was distressing to read because this book is targeted towards cat people as the title suggests so I don't know why there weren't any TWs of such content.

[Pragti Rathore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Warm and funny with an eclectic mix of stories from cat lovers, haters, haters turned into lovers, etc. etc. Feels like sitting in a congregation of cat lovers who are taking turns to recount stories of their interactions with cats
Probably the only bone I had to pick with the author (editor) was that most of the stories were short, just a couple of pages and she seems to have focused on quantity and having a diverse mix of tales rather than making them particularly deep-meaning stories
Perfect for travel, lighthearted reading and if you hold a special place for furry animals in your heart :)

[Shreya Devan · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘Cat people’ has 32 short stories/essays on the subject of cats. My favourite among them were ‘The Wet, the fast and Mao’, ‘A home for Eecha’, ‘Weather forecast’, ‘Cheeni’, ‘Talent’ and ‘These particular cats’. Apart from these some were good for laughs and some will make you emotional especially if you have a cat of your own. Overall I feel it would have been better if the number of stories were less say 20 instead of the 32, because some of them added little value to this anthology dedicated to cats. I would give it 3.5 stars. Strictly for cat lovers only 😸

[Charvi]

Sort of DNF
I have issues with anthologies. Like every anthology this one has good stories and stories I couldn't get into at all. It had stories written by friends, professors and people I know so I read some of those and then decided to give up because it's almost been a year since I've been pushing myself to read this book and failing to pick it up.

[Anusha Sridharan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories within “Cat People” are as diverse as the cats themselves. Each author brings a unique perspective, sharing tales that are heartwarming, humorous, and occasionally bittersweet. The narratives celebrate the quirks and idiosyncrasies of these enigmatic creatures, painting vivid portraits of their charming antics.

[Shivani Verma · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF @ 25%

[Shwetha · Rating 3 out of 5]

me when

[Aditya Kumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Calming peaceful read, enjoyed almost every story.

[Dhwani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cat People is a compilation of 32 stories, essays and art pieces by cat lovers as well as some by cat haters. It's a collection edited by Devapriya Roy.

Do you love these purry little soft creatures we call cats? Do you have them as pets? Have you grown up with them as pets? Do your black trousers and grey sofas have an abundance of cat hairs? Do you own lint rollers for the same?

If you answered in positive to any of the questions above and are someone who likes reading, this book is for you.

Or do you dislike them for their unreliable nature? Have you heard stories about how cats are not to be trusted because they aren't as loyal as dogs? Or probably how they drink milk with closed eyes meaning they won't probably recall who fed them?

I have grown up watching these cute but slightly scary (because of their talons) creatures and hearing stories about their species. The verdict is that I like cats.

This book is a compilation of stories, essays and art about people and their relationship with cats, how they've grown up with them, how they've lost them, basically every scenario you can imagine a cat in is in here. This exactly is what ends up being a plus point and the negative point of the book. The plethora of stories, 32, with smalls fonts may irk you. Unless you take them at 2 or 3 at a time, you may not end up enjoying the book for it may seem repetitive considering our theme is the same. Again, this theme is appreciable for its a compilation that's quite different from the books normally available. In terms of the pieces being stories, essays, art work, list, this collection is interesting but there are very few of these, meaning, these variation in the writing is only seen in the last few stories. The first third of the is very similar writing wise i.e. most of them are stories. So more of these variations interspersed through the book uniformly would aid to a better reading experience.

My review for this book is a mixed one, so you can give it a go and see for yourself.