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Title: A Year of Cats and Dogs
Author: Margaret Hawkins
Narrator: Heather Henderson
Format: Unabridged
Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
Language: English
Release date: 07-16-10
Publisher: Cornerstone, an imprint of Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 8 votes
Genres: Fiction, Contemporary
Publisher's Summary:
What happens when nothing happens? Maryanne wonders in A Year of Cats and Dogs, a darkly funny yet hopeful novel about a woman in mid-life who feels surrounded by death. She answers her own question by deciding to find out.
I wanted to embrace entropy, to stop working so hard at keeping things up, to go AWOL from the productive world Id so long been a part of, she tells us at the beginning of the novel. The clearer it became that Phillip wasnt coming back, the more I wanted to hurry up and let things go just to see what would happen.
As it turns out, a lot happens. Even as Maryannes world slows down and comes apart, curious revelations begin to emerge about the daily life shes formerly taken for granted. She discovers she can hear the thoughts of animals, starting with her own opinionated dog and cat. Then the veterinarian at the animal shelter where she volunteers offers her a job as a dog whisperer and asks her on a date to his mothers funeral. When her father falls ill, she is reunited with her estranged sister, and when he dies they learn about his secret life.
The book contains recipes for the consoling, if plain, foods Maryanne cooks for her family and friends, along with the inner dialog that accompanies them, and each chapter is linked to a corresponding chapter in the I Ching, reflecting that books age-old wisdom, which says that sometimes no action is the best action of all.
Critic Reviews:
Hawkins spins an offbeat and delightful tale of a mid-life anti-crisisthe unhurried and lighthearted narrativeis a pleasant departure from the standard mid-life crisis story. (Publishers Weekly)
I relished this quirky, sparkling novel. (Chicago Tribune)
Hawkins seamlessly weaves together many eclectic elements: soup recipes, I Ching meditations, bits of maudlin poetry, a pets simple request for toast, the heartache of death. You dont have to be an animal lover to enjoy this funny and moving debut novel. (Library Journal)
Members Reviews:
Delightful, Entertaining, Endearing
I bought this because I am a fan of Heather Henderson's narration. I first encountered her listening to "Brain on Fire," a great book which is being made into a film starting Dakota Fanning, and I also really enjoyed Heather reading "The Curve of Time" (another fantastic memoir). So, when I saw this on sale, I grabbed it. I am so glad I did!
This is a whimsical and quitely wise slice-of-life type romance. Maryanne, childless and entering her 50s, is not your typical heroine. She is not pinning after children she will not have, and when her long-term relationship ends, it's not a drama filled event, and it "feels" very real, like the kind of thing that can happen, does happen, to some couples. On top of that, her father's health is failing.
Maryanne isn't unaffected by these losses, and her reaction seemed to me to be psychologically true. I could relate to her desire to slow down and shut out everything - her quiet grieving process and the way events naturally lead to change. And I appreciated how the author tied in the wisdom of the IChing, using it as a framing device for Maryanne's moments of wisdom infused with life humor.
