Homer's Odyssey

Homer's Odyssey
by Gwen Cooper

Homer was a kitten, found only a few weeks old, with eyes so infected they had to be removed to save his life.  Of course an eyeless kitten is hard to find a home for so he was in danger of being euthanized.  Gwen Cooper rescues him and adopts him into her family which consists of herself and her two feline fur children adopted previously.

I adore this story of Homer's life.  He is truly an amazing cat.  His story ranges from out loud funny to tear streaked face to pure amazement.  And his Mom's telling of the story is perfect. Like everyone (almost) who meets Homer, I fell in love with him, too, and also wanted to be "Homer's buddy."

Okay, to be honest, I didn't want to just be his buddy, I wanted to be his new mommy and take him for myself.

 The things an eyeless cat, at least this eyeless cat, can do are amazing.  Like blind people who use echolocation to navigate their world, Homer has super sharp hearing and sense of smell to offset his "disability."  Indeed, "disability" can almost hardly be used in describing Homer. He is fearless and determined to make the world his own on his terms.

Homer enters Gwen's life when she has newly broken up with a live-in boyfriend.  As Homer's story unfolds, so does Gwen's, although hers is definitely the background story.  The most poignant part of the story was the telling of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center from the author's perspective as the resident of an apartment only a few blocks from ground zero.  Forced out of the area with no notice, the despair of not being able to get back to her apartment or her cats was unbearable. I witnessed 9/11 only through news coverage and was enthralled with this personal account.

I am a cat lover and related to this book in many ways with tales and memories of my own roaming through my mind as I read.  I would recommend this book to anyone who has ever been owned and loved by a pet.  And just one little *SPOILER ALERT* that you probably won't mind...  no cats die in this book, of old age or any other cause.  I think that would have made it unbearable!

Five shots of five from me.