A Street Cat Named Bob
By James Bowen / Narrated by Kristopher Milnes
Length: 6 hrs and 3 mins
Fellow travelers on a hard but lovely road
First thing I did after listening to A Street Cat Named Bob was hit YouTube where, yup! There the duo was in action. ‘Cause really. I needed to see it to believe all that I’d just heard. How delighted I am to see that they’re real, that the bond is there, that Bob is one helluva cat. I know my own feline buddies love me to death, but to sit with me on a crowded street where there are thousands of feet traipsing going by all throughout the day? Nope; not my gang.
The best thing about the book is that it has a real edginess to it. James Bowen is not a choirboy, and he shows you just how invisible the lower classes, or even the homeless can be in our society. He has a hardscrabble life, has to really bust it to make ends meet. And some of how he got to where he is, is entirely due to maybe not the best choices. I can relate to that a lot more than I could to said choirboy…
A recovering heroin addict, trying to keep his life together through methadone, his heart really shines through in this book. Despite his poverty, he takes in the rough, sick, bedraggled Bob and uses the last of his money, all he has in the world, to get the strange cat care.
He does that many, many times. Throughout the book, he’ll spend it all, he’ll leave everything he owns by the wayside, all to make sure his buddy, his soulmate of a cat has what’s needed.
And Bob gives back 100 percent. His devotion to James, his trust in him, his delight in seeing the man after an absence is beautiful to behold. He’ll even get James through the roughest forty-eight hours man can ever know.
You looking for a good buddy book? You looking to see how a man can lift himself up and try to be something more than an invisible creature beneath contempt? You looking to find a story of a sweet and loyal animal companion?
Look no further. Get past the slight smattering of profanity (remember: it’s rough on those streets), and dive right in. Milnes delivers Bowen’s profound admiration and gratitude to life in wonderful tones. This is a joy of a listen!
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