xcharlotteliz's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Drug use and Alcohol
chelseamayxxx's review
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
2.0
This book wasn’t about the cat much at all it was mainly about her and her husbands life though out lockdown which really annoyed me as the books is called the year of the cat. You get bits and pieces of the cat though out the book but no much at all. There is also a lot about her childhood and her parents and there cats which I didn’t really enjoy at all. I found this book to be boring and lacking anything interesting I got board whilst reading this book and when I finally finished it I was so glad. The bits we did get about the cat were interesting and intriguing to read about and I enjoyed some of them parts of the books but overall this book was a massive let down xxx
jola_g's review against another edition
3.0
When life gives us lemons, we are supposed to make lemonade. Some of us even sell it. To attract more attention, it is advisable to decorate the lemonade’s label with something whimsical. How about an adorable kitten? This is what happens in The Year of the Cat (2023), a memoir with essayistic flair about a new pet, the pandemic, personal traumas, family troubles, an autistic brother and more.
After I had read the review of this book in The Guardian, I felt very tempted to buy it and impatiently counted the days to the premiere. Was it worth the wait? To be frank, I had a love-hate relationship with this book. Some passages were scintillating with brilliance and moved me truly. Some tested my patience and resilience. For example, I felt exasperated by the author’s obsessive, often recurring divagations on the pros and cons of having children. Apropos, I found it surprising that her husband did not participate in these considerations - it looked as if the whole responsibility was Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett's and he would just have to adjust obediently. I am aware these repetitions might be the result of the author’s anxiety problems but I wish she and the editors had been a bit more critical. Another complaint is the extensive length of this book.
With all respect due to Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett and her problems, it is Mackerel the cat who immediately steals the show. I loved her from the moment she entered and wish she would have been in the limelight more often. I also immensely enjoyed the author’s musing on cats in general, the feline quotes, all the interesting examples from literature and art. It was a sheer delight! I wish I could enthuse about the parts in which Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett reveals and unravels in detail her personal traumas. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy these passages although I do feel very sorry for the author and all the 'lemons' she has been gifted generously.
After reading The Year of the Cat I imagine Rhiannon as a sensitive, subtle, fragile, reserved person and I wonder what the emotional cost of revealing to a crowd of complete strangers such personal things was. I guess writing this book might have been a cathartic experience for the author but I hope the publication did not ricochet. Sometimes reading this memoir felt like eavesdropping on Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett's monologues at a therapist.
My lack of total ardour for The Year of the Cat may be rooted in my pet peeve: very personal confessions of people I know absolutely nothing about make me feel awkward and frustrated that there is not much I can do to help. I did not enjoy the forced intimacy between Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett and me either but I appreciated the author's honesty and candid reflections on her life and cats. Especially cats.
Woman with Cat, Pablo Picasso.
After I had read the review of this book in The Guardian, I felt very tempted to buy it and impatiently counted the days to the premiere. Was it worth the wait? To be frank, I had a love-hate relationship with this book. Some passages were scintillating with brilliance and moved me truly. Some tested my patience and resilience. For example, I felt exasperated by the author’s obsessive, often recurring divagations on the pros and cons of having children. Apropos, I found it surprising that her husband did not participate in these considerations - it looked as if the whole responsibility was Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett's and he would just have to adjust obediently. I am aware these repetitions might be the result of the author’s anxiety problems but I wish she and the editors had been a bit more critical. Another complaint is the extensive length of this book.
With all respect due to Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett and her problems, it is Mackerel the cat who immediately steals the show. I loved her from the moment she entered and wish she would have been in the limelight more often. I also immensely enjoyed the author’s musing on cats in general, the feline quotes, all the interesting examples from literature and art. It was a sheer delight! I wish I could enthuse about the parts in which Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett reveals and unravels in detail her personal traumas. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy these passages although I do feel very sorry for the author and all the 'lemons' she has been gifted generously.
After reading The Year of the Cat I imagine Rhiannon as a sensitive, subtle, fragile, reserved person and I wonder what the emotional cost of revealing to a crowd of complete strangers such personal things was. I guess writing this book might have been a cathartic experience for the author but I hope the publication did not ricochet. Sometimes reading this memoir felt like eavesdropping on Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett's monologues at a therapist.
My lack of total ardour for The Year of the Cat may be rooted in my pet peeve: very personal confessions of people I know absolutely nothing about make me feel awkward and frustrated that there is not much I can do to help. I did not enjoy the forced intimacy between Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett and me either but I appreciated the author's honesty and candid reflections on her life and cats. Especially cats.
Woman with Cat, Pablo Picasso.
drizcoll's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.25
I did enjoy this - loved the content about the cat and the author's reflections on her life were poignant and dead interesting. Two things slightly irked me - she seemed oddly cagey about where it is she grew up after clearly moving out of London, and the "should I have kids bit' was a bit repetitive especially towards the end.