Cat Lady: The Sunday Times bestseller and the latest funny, brilliant and bold fiction novel for 2023 from the author of So Lucky
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Cat Lady: The Sunday Times bestseller and the latest funny, brilliant and bold fiction novel for 2023 from the author of So Lucky
- Brand: Unbranded
Description
An ode to finding your people and a celebration of the small things that bring us together’ Emma Gannon Mia is 45, and happily married (separate bedrooms), lives in a nice house (originally bought by her hubby and his first wife), is a great step mum (although the first wife/mother is always popping round); has a great job (she has to micromanage the gormless chief executive) and is in love (with her cat, 'Pigeon') and is pretty much living the ideal conventional life, but is this the life that Mia wants? I'll finish this with one of the quotes that gave me lots of feelings: "The kindness of strangers can get you to the next place you are supposed to be" Mia, the mother: She dotes on her stepson Oliver. She and her husband Tristan have an unconventional relationship with Oliver's mother, Belinda, but Mia puts up with it for the sake of keeping the family together. Plus, she is utterly devoted to her cat, Pigeon. She is his mother. Don’t get me wrong, if you got rid of all the uncomfortable encounters, or at least toned it down a little, it would’ve had the potential to become quite an impactful story about mental health and self discovery, and at times it was. But sweet hell, some of the encounters and thoughts that the main character had were just unnecessary and outright disturbing. I did enjoy the development of some of the characters, especially (colleague designer) and how she fought for what she believed to be right within the company, even if it did feel a little half- hearted at times. In contrast to this though, others just outright disturbed me, the main being (creepy babe guy) who had a questionable understanding of what consent was at the best of times and was just straight weird.
I promised my mother in law that she could have this book once I had read it, because she truly is a cat lady - not in a weird way. But, I can’t give her this book. It’s so messed up that I feel like giving her this would be a massive mistake. It’s not funny, it’s just wrong. I have read some things in this book that I really wish I could un-read. Mia has made the best of her life after a difficult childhood: good job, nice house and a stable marriage. OK so she loves her cat Pigeon more than her husband Tristan, is irritated by most of her colleagues, has no friends, and has to put up with her husband’s awful ex-wife Belinda for the sake of her stepson Oliver - but whose life is perfect? Dawn O’Porter challenges the stereotypes of the typical ‘cat lady’ with this beautiful and emotional read’ Reader review⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐There isn't much of a synopsis for this novel so I wasn't sure what I was going to get but it day say 'very funny'. It wasn't! This is another of those books about quirky oddballs finding their place in the world that have been super popular in womens’ fiction in recent years. Lots of them are very good, unfortunately this was not. Writing in first person present, Mia describes every tiny action of her life in minuscule detail - from what she puts into Oliver’s lunchbox, to having a shower, to her and Tristan’s grotesque middle-age sex. Maybe other readers would find constant references to Belinda’s juices hilarious, I didn’t. Nothing much happens in the first half, there’s a bit of awkward social commentary, and Mia reinforces every stereotype about people who love cats. I was simultaneously entertained and devastated. I highly commend O'Porter for their ability to put my feelings on a rollercoaster. Do not recommend this book to anyone, as much as I wish I could. I was gifted this by Harper Fiction and Tandem Collective UK, but will not be tagging due to the negative nature of this review.
At times the story was quite extreme, but you know…..I got it. I got the fear of losing a cat even if potentially in years to come. I really didn’t want to cry at this book and I tried so hard not to but it just couldn’t be helped, I finally caved and found myself full of tears. If you’re a big emotional softie like me then you may find the last quarter of the book either upsetting and/or heart-wrenching but also heartwarming at the same time as the conclusion to the story neared.
Customer reviews
Fresh, funny and for anyone who’s ever felt astray, CAT LADY will help you belong – because a woman always lands on her feet. What the hell even was this book? I was expecting a wholesome story about a woman and her cat and I did not get that! I did enjoy some of the themes that the book explored but at times it was just outright disturbing. I tried to persevere with it and see if it could get any better (or worse) but it just started to make me feel so uncomfortable that I just couldn’t carry on.
- Fruugo ID: 258392218-563234582
- EAN: 764486781913
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