Caleb Carr has written a beautiful story. Read it. (I hate watching animal stories and now hate animal stories that make me cry. To all those that love their pets unconditionally, you know.) ( )

I listened to this as an audiobook, and it is a long one, about 14 hours. The narrator does an outstanding job. However I have to digest audiobooks in small doses - it is a me thing - so it was not a fast trip through the book. I would have been able to read the book quicker.

This is a most unusual book. I suggest prospective readers google for a NPR interview done with the author when this book came out earlier this year, not long before the author died. It is short and it tells you what the book is about. I could almost rate this book 5 stars and I could lean towards 3 stars, but not really. Here is the NPR page, an 8 minute listen and very much worth it. https://www.npr.org/2024/04/13/1244583143/caleb-carrs-new-book-is-a-memoir-about...

I love cats a lot. The author clearly does a lot more. It is a remarkable thing he did writing this memoir, a love letter of sorts to a most remarkable cat. It gets a bit over the top and there are a few parts of the book that are hard to digest. I wondered a time or two if the author was a bit crazy. But a reader will hopefully understand when you read or listen to this and see the remarkable bond the author had with his cat. This is a remarkable portrait of a relationship. You might get a few tears.

I very much recommend it. 4+ stars ( )

My beloved monster is an exquisite and gripping read that demands a certain kind of strength from its readers. The bond between Caleb Carr and his "monster," Masha, is complex and rich. Carr meets Masha at an overcrowded rescue operation, when she draws him to her. Carr doesn't know that this cat has a history of abuse and is quick to attack, that she''s a cat the rescue operation fears may never be homed. But as Masha studies Carr and He studies Masha, the two come to realize that they have deep similarities that will ultimately allow them to build a remarkable bond.

As someone who has lived with cats her entire life, but has never had a bond of such intensity with one, I was fascinated by the story of Carr and Masha. His ability to read her moods, thinking, and memories (and, yes, I do think all three of these are present) has me thinking about ways to be a more reliable "teammate" for my own cats.

What makes My Beloved Monster a read requiring strength are the calamities and violences that emerge in life and that we cannot control. The book contains stories of former cats in Carr's life, and these stories contain a great deal of joy, but too often have ended unhappily. I skipped Chapter 9 and parts of Chapters 20 and 21 because The vulnerabilies they revealed were, quite honestly, more than I could bear.

My intention isn't to deter others from reading this title, it's simply to tell them to read with caution and to be aware of the ways the will and won't be able to bear the sorrows that life dishes out.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own. ( )