Book Review: Kitty Cornered by Bob Tarte

A book written by the elusive cat man :)


Kitty Cornered by Bob Tarte, Narrated by Tom Perkins  
Audiobook 
Released April 2017, Unabridged 
Amazon ♦ Goodreads
Bob Tarte had his first encounter with a cat when he was two and a half years old. He should have learned his lesson then, from Fluffy. But as he says, "I listened to my heart instead, and that always leads to trouble." 

In this tell-all of how the Tarte household grew from one recalcitrant cat to six-including a hard-to-manage stray named Frannie-Tarte confesses to allowing these interlopers to shape his and his wife's life, from their dining habits to their sleeping arrangements to the placement and furriness of their furniture. But more than that, Bob begins seeing Frannie and the other cats as unlikely instructors in the art of achieving contentment, even in the face of illness and injury. Bewitched by the unknowable nature of domesticated cats, he realizes that sometimes wildness and mystery are exactly what he needs. With the winning humor and uncanny ability to capture the soul of the animal world that made Enslaved by Ducks a success, Tarte shows us that life with animals gives us a way out of our narrow human perspective to glimpse something larger, more enduring, and more grounded in the simplicities of love-and catnip. 


My Thoughts:

Look at that cover and those crazy, crazy eyes and tell me you could’ve resisted!

This is a cute audiobook about a man who insists he didn’t start out as a cat lover. Yeah, yeah I’ve heard that story before! He never really had anything against them but his parents preferred dogs. He was also scratched pretty badly as a kid but never held it against the entire species. His take ‘em or leave ‘em feelings towards them changes when he marries an animal lover named Linda and suddenly their house is filled with birds, other assorted animals and lots of cats. Six of them by the very end and he clearly loves them all.

He recalls how all of these cats came into his life and the stories are sweet, funny and, whew, sorrynotsorry for the spoiler alert, none of them die! I have to tell you, I was extremely worried about that but he ends the book before that ever happens. If you’re an animal death wimp like me you can feel safe reading this one.

I think any cat lover will enjoy this audio but you really do have to be a fan of the feline because it’s most definitely a cat person book. The writer is a neurotic man who only wishes “to stay in a good mood for longer than hour”. If you can relate, you will enjoy him and his many idiosyncrasies. He reminded me a bit of Eeyore and that is okay. I enjoy reading about other people’s problems and their naughty pets. It makes me feel better about my crazy bunch who have shaved years off of my life with their cord chewing, string eating, demonic ways. So, while there is nothing earth shattering here and it didn’t make me laugh out loud (but nothing does, really because I’m a crab), it’s an amusing and pleasant, stress-free way to spend a few hours.

The audiobook I listened to was narrated by Tom Perkins and he is a pleasure to listen to for hours on end. You know I’d tell you if he wasn’t!

I received this audio from Tantor Media a shamefully long time ago. Thanks, Tantor!


Comments

  1. I'm not a great cat fan but for some reason cats seem to like me!

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    1. Cats are jerks like that, lol. They will force you to like them :)

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  2. That title and cover is so cute.

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    1. It was a fun to read in between all of the darker stuff.

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  3. I wasn't much of a cat person until I took in my sister's cat after she passed away. Sheba won me over quickly. This sounds interesting and thanks for letting me know no animals died.

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    1. You're very welcome and I'm sorry about your sister.

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  4. Sounds like it was a fun listen and can you imagine Eeyore with a cat? It's no wonder Tigger got on his nerves so much. I appreciate your spoiler because even if I never read this one I STILL need to know that the animals live! Glad you had fun with this one.

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    1. I know it. These books scares me. I hate getting attached to an animal (fictional or no) and having the sweet thing die at some point.

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  5. I have this so maybe you gave me the kick int he pants I needed to read it lol

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

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  6. Aww. This reminds me of my husband. I'm the reason he's had so many cats, but he has really loved them all. I'm glad to hear there were no deaths to experience in the book. Hubs and I have been together going on 20 years so he's had to endure cat heartache for sure.

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    1. My husband claims he hates cats yet Patrick curls up with him every time he sits down! We've had plenty of dog heartache but we haven't experienced a kitty loss yet. I dread the day :(

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