The other day I was pleasantly surprised to
receive a message asking me when I was next going to write about a book !
I’ve been pretty useless lately with the whole blogging thing what with
settling into life in Poitiers and trying to cope with so many more hours of
lectures than I’m used to in Bristol.
But as a bit of a break I was looking for
something really light and easy to read. Over the easter holidays earlier this
year I worked at a London publishing house for a couple of weeks and got to
take home as many free books as I could carry – a book lover’s dream !
A Street Cat Named Bob was one of
these, and although it didn’t appeal to me the most out of the ones I took
home, it’s received raving reviews so I thought I’d give it a go.
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| Credits: Amazon |
The reviews on the cover describe James Bowen’s
real-life story as heart-warming, and yes, the tale of Bowen’s struggle with homelessness
and drug addiction and finding an unlikely friend and beacon of hope in Bob the
cat is definitely uplifting and admirable. However, in terms of reading a
300-page book I lost interest ; I found there was just too much mundane
description of things like travelling on the bus and I got pretty bored…
Also I’d have liked to know more about the
drug addiction and psychological issues – I didn’t really get the emotion and
grit that I was expecting, considering that the book is about how a drug addict
turned his life around. My favourite parts were where Bowen explained about his
family upbringing that led to his downward spiral, and the ins and outs of how
the Big Issue works (which I hadn’t
had any idea about before). But these sections weren’t sufficiently long or
detailed for me.
On a positive note, I have to say that while I
didn’t feel a connection with the author, I did warm to Bob – he comes across
as a real and funny character. And I’m not even a cat person. My verdict ?
Read if you’re in the mood for an uplifting real-life story, but give it a miss
if you’re looking for a proper page-turner.
