Customer Reviews

The Cat and the Curmudgeon

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A delightful read and a must-have for any animal lover or pet owner. I laughed until tears came to my eyes. Keepsake for always, as well as a fantastic gift for anyone who loves cats. The man was a legend with a brilliant mind and sharp wit. I highly recommend this book..and the entire series of Polar Bear books, as well as his other works.

This is the second of three books about Polar Bear, the cat adopted by Cleveland Amory. It continues the story of their life together and Amory's work with animal protection. Polar Bear is a very interesting cat and the words and thoughts given to him by Amory are amusing. Anyone who is owned by a cat will enjoy all three books. The Cat Who Came for Christmas and The Best Cat Ever are the other two.

I read Mr. Armory's first book about his beloved cat, Polar Bear and loved it, but this one is even better. I only wish that I had found my love of reading and cats earlier in life so I may have had a chance to write to him in person and tell him how wonderful he is. This man should be deemed a Saint, in his life time, he did for animals what Mother Teresa did for the poor of Calcutta.
I also wish I could have met Polar Bear, a most amazing animal.This book is a great mix of humor and wonderful stories of Polar Bears antics with numerous animals that Mr. Armory rescued. I am taking my time reading the last couple chapters and plan to do the same with The Best Cat Ever as I know that is the last of the series.
I even rented the movie, Mr. North just to get a glimpse of this amazing man in a bit part.He is truly, The Best Writer Ever....

This well written, witty book is a classic. I missed it when it was new, but find the essays to be timely and humorous. Anyone who has ever owned a cat with a lot of "attitude" will understand Mr. Armony's wry commentary. He uses his cat as a way to write about everything from chess and to animal welfare to the vagaries of love.

This book is a continuation of his adventures with Polar Bear. I didn't find it as compelling as the first or third books in the series, but well worth reading. It's quite humorous reading about how Polar Bear deals with fame.

This book starts off slow, continues slow, and ends slow. Therefore it is not a very fast read. I would suggest it only for people who are extremely into cats or extremely bored out of thier minds. Although boring, the book has some insiteful facts. If you find it interesting to read about the life of a cat and scenes from the past of it's curmudgeon owner than this book would be great for you.

Readers everywhere will remember "The Cat Who Came for Christmas". The book is a classic. This books picks up when that one left off. If you love your cat, you'll love Cleveland Amory's books. Hick, even dog lovers find pleasure here. A New York alley cat named Polar Bear will be everything you can imagine and more.

Cleveland Amory, making much ado about (often) nothing, is more of a fussbudget than a curmudgeon. His tone is mildly condescending, as though he is trying to be funny -- something like Asimov, but Asimov was brighter.

I forced myself to keep reading, in the name of Amazon.com reviews, even though every few pages put me to sleep. In the three days (!) it took me to wade through the muck, my entire sleep schedule was disrupted. My own cat, meanwhile, showed his dislike by repeatedly resting his ample, uh, tail on the book. I had to keep reminding myself that "The Cat and the Curmudgeon" was NOT the WORST book I had ever read. I planned to rate the book at a * or a generous **, all the while scheming to meet Amory in a bar for the purpose of dumping a drink on his cantankerous self.

The stock certificates were amusing, and I can smile at how Polar Bear has Amory wrapped around his little, uh, claw. However, I did not find the book, as a whole, to be enjoyable.

When I reached the VIth of VII chapters, I reevaluated my opinion. I did enjoy reading about the Fund's Ranch sanctuary -- enough so that I will be looking for Cleveland Amory's "Ranch of Dreams: A Lifelong Protector of Animals Shares the Story of His Extraordinary Sanctuary" (available on Amazon).

I'm not sure who is the curmudgeon, or if there are two. I found Amory's prattle unbearable at times. However, I can't help but like a fellow animal lover -- and indeed, the idea to tell women in fur that it makes them look fat, why, it's enough to earn the whole book an additional star right there.

In summary, I'm glad that I didn't spend $... on the book, but also glad that I read it, and glad that I supported my local Bookmobile in doing so. I will give Amory another chance.

I loved the idea of this book and I love what the author has done with his farm in Texas. But this story drug on forever. It's just not interesting. I found myself wanting to pick up another book.

I love animals and was happy to hear about Mr. Amory's work with animals rights. But I didn't find the book interesting.