"A cross between Kerouac's "On the Road" and "Animal Hospital". That's not something you get to say every day. London girl Clare de Vries' account of her road trip across America with her 19-year-old, chocolate-brown Burmese cat, Claudius, is nutty, neurotic and honest de Vries is funny, fast and self-deprecating." - "Conde Nast Traveller". Clare de Vries dreamed of chucking in her job and Thelma and Louise-ing it around the United States. Which is exactly what she did. Except that Louise was her nineteen-year-old chocolate brown Burmese cat Claudius. From celebrity pet hair stylists in New York to brown bears in the Appalachians, from astronauts in Nashville to Elvis' shag ceiling in Graceland to voodoo snakes in New Orleans, the unlikely couple just about kept their Guccis intact and even learnt to read a map. That was before riding with psychic cowboys in Texas, losing vital body parts in the Grand Canyon, gambling with hoods in Vegas and spilling drinks over film stars in Hollywood.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
The question isn't, "What happens when a young British woman travels the southern United States with a 19-year-old cat?" The question is, "What happens when bad-news-in-stiletto-heels Clare de Vries does that?" The answer is unbridled hilarity. Pushing 30, De Vries is wallowing in an emotional void from the recent death of her mother when she arrives on the East Coast with her cat Claudius, a shipped-over sports car, and a fantasy of finding happiness in America. Her dreams are continually smashed: the car breaks down, the cat soon follows, and felicity is elusive as she encounters some of the most wacked-out creatures to ever call George Washington their founding father. The feisty troublemaker gets booted out of hotels, museums, parks, and planes for traveling with her feline friend, and is a chronic magnet for weirdness, be it in the form of felons, con men, psychics, or ghosts. The absurdity that De Vries calls her on-the-road life reaches only one high point in Vegas, when disguised as Cleopatra she ditches a stranger from whom she inadvertently borrowed, and immediately lost, $5,000. Interspersed within the insane and sometimes harrowing escapades that unfold on her six-month road trek are touching emotional insights about pets, loved ones, and solo travel that fill out what might otherwise be simply an entirely entertaining albeit madcap book. Graphic, sometimes shocking, and sarcastically hip, this is not a book for your cat-loving grandmother, but a wild example of what might happen when a young, slightly neurotic female overdosing on chutzpah heads out (nearly) alone to shake boredom from her life. In that goal at least, De Vries unabashedly succeeds. --Melissa Rossi
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Twenty-nine-year-old de Vries always dreamed of driving across America, but she couldn't bear to leave her beloved 19-year-old, toothless, chocolate-brown Burmese cat Claudius home alone in London. So, bucking conventional wisdom, she packed up ClaudeAand his water bowlAand flew with him across the Atlantic. Once in America, they encountered pet hair stylists in New York City, brown bears in the Smoky Mountains, psychic cowboys, the Grand Canyon, the lights of Las Vegas, and stars in Hollywood. Claude accompanies de Vries on many of her adventuresAbut he also spends a lot of time sleeping. Along the way, he has several illnesses that require veterinary attention; in order to survive these moments of panic, de Vries consoles herself by buying designer clothes and considering plastic surgery. The bond between the writer and her cat seems truly genuine, but do we really need to know all the details of de Vries's angst about her wardrobe, her lack of a boyfriend, and her self-indulgent lifestyle? Her language, which ranges from British bawdy to downright trashy, adds nothing to her narrative. The moral is this: cats should be left at home, and this work is too uneven to be recommended.AEva Lautemann, Georgia Perimeter Coll. Lib., Clarkston
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Clare is an enchanting woman and reflects it in her new novel! I and Claudius is a no-holds-barred look at America through the eyes of a gutsy Brit. This is a story of fun and high adventure. It is related by, perhaps, the most unlikely of chroniclers, and her (also most unlikely) cat. This is also a story of a young woman finding the path to her future, and excorcising the ghosts of the past. She is an inspiration for all of us. You will find yourself splitting your sides laughing one moment, and have tears rolling down your cheeks the next. A must read, and very difficult to put down! I had the good fortune to meet this brilliant woman during her travels. Her insights into the "heart" of America are warm, thought-provoking, and absolutely precious.\ Do not miss this one!
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
What a wonderful idea and story... for the cat lover and for anyone who has ever dreamed of hitting the road just to "find themselves." Way to go, Clare and Claude, for having the nerve to do what the rest of us only dream about. Claude will be missed by those who knew him. I am glad his last days can now be shared with everyone in the world.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Clare De Vries - Intelligent, beautiful and just a little bit crazy.
Claudius - Clare's alter ego. A wise old philosophising cat. One of the few sane males in the entire book and the only male that Clare loves unreservedly.
Running away from her past (the death of her mother) and unwilling to face the future (the inevitable demise of her cat), Clare embarks upon a cathartic journey across America, accompanied by her old and ailing cat, Claudius.
With a typically British arrogance when abroad (in her case endearingly so), and not caring about local custom or etiquette (When In Rome, and all that), Clare is feisty and outspoken. Willing to stand up for herself and not at all bothered as to whom she upsets. In all her audacious escapades Clare's basic attitude throughout is - Just go for it. Dive in with both feet and damn the consequences.
Possessing a very savage wit, with irony and sarcasm thrown in for good measure, Clare takes no prisoners. Of the Americans Clare meets, most fail to realise what has hit them before it is too late. They are bemused by her antics, unsure of how to deal with her, and are certainly at a loss to understand her humour. Which leads to some very funny scenes and glorious misunderstandings.
Clare's journey consists of a) staying in some of the most disgusting and roach infested Motels in America b) getting totally off her face as often as possible, and then picking fights and causing arguments with anyone and everyone c) obsessing about sex with the perfect male and being always on the look out for her Adonis d) meeting psychos (see previous).
As well as attracting the seriously deranged Clare actively seeks them out - Obsessed People, oddballs, the dangerously psychotic and out and out Loons.
Constantly worrying about Claudius' progressively ill health, Clare suffers violent mood swings, despair and deep depression. There are moments when you cannot help feeling that Clare is wildly out of control and self destructive as she careers across America from one crazy disaster to another.
You are transfixed by the increasingly bizarre and often extremely dangerous adventures that Clare manages to get herself into. But Clare is not stupid. Using all her feminine wiles and beguiling charm she manipulates men and suckers them into doing her bidding. And with a strong survival instinct, plus a little luck, Clare manages to extricate herself from sometimes violent and potentially lethal situations.
By turn's laugh out loud hilarious, moving, hair-raisingly reckless, madcap and scary, this is a wonderful book and a cracking page-turner. Edge of your seat stuff and a joy to read. If you are open to high adventure, decidedly weird people and strange encounters, then Clare is your ideal travelling companion.
Although significantly different in style this is the best travelogue across the American Heartland since Martin Fletcher's `Almost Heaven'. Highly Recommended. More Please.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Clare, Paris Hilton called and she wants her ego back.
I must have missed something. I forced myself to finish this book. Descriptions of a few eccentric Americans were sometimes amusing, but reading the journal of a spoiled wealthy... Read more
Published on October 30, 2009 by Innana
Drags like a busted elephant's foot.
Not one of the best travel-related pieces I've read. Driving alone, de Vries has no-one to play off against so in order to provide some dialogue, she makes constant references to... Read more
Published on July 16, 2004 by Tony Hughes
Traveling with Gusto
Of all travel books I've read so far, this one has got to be the most hilarious and magnificent. Clare writes with gusto and love for her cat and of travel, and one feels as if... Read more
Published on December 14, 2003 by Sam
Maybe I'm just not a cat person
Everyone really seemed to love this book so I thought I'd check it out, but besides being easy to read I didn't find much merit in it. In the end she just really annoyed me. Read more
Published on April 17, 2003
Marvelous! and strangely uncanny...
Clare's relationship with Claude is priceless and gorgeous, and though perhaps the future customer probably doesn't really care to read about the reviewer, my experiences are... Read more
Published on August 1, 2002
You'll laugh; you'll cry; you'll purr
Of course you will read all the other reviews here, and they are pretty right-on. Clare is a bit of a female Holden Caulfield; she is amusing and appealing while going through real... Read more
Published on January 15, 2002 by Michelle B. Braverman
Brilliant!
This is possibly the funniest book I have ever read. Clare De Vries is an extremely talented writer who turns a travel diary of a roadtrip into a fiery masterpiece.
Published on August 29, 2001
Edgy Brit with very cool cat drives the US of A
At age 28, journalist Clare de Vries of England decides her life needs shaking up, so she embarks on an auto tour of the United States with her pet Burmese cat of 19 years,... Read more
Published on July 16, 2001 by Joseph Haschka
hilarious and poignant!
"i and claudius" is my new favorite book. it is a must have for anyone who considers their pets to be family members (and not just cats, i have dogs and cats). Read more
Published on February 23, 2001
Claudius & Clare: My Hero's
My emotions ran as wild as Clare and Claudius on their journey across America! This is a must read for anyone who has had a special relationship with a cat or has had... Read more
Published on November 14, 2000 by cootieskn@yahoo.com
Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Lying in bed, ermintruminating over my life. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
juh right, purple cowboy boots, litter tray Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Fort Worth, New Orleans, Miss Clara Rule, New Mexico, Ginger Hairy Hippie, Mary Love, Monty Roberts, Grand Canyon, Love Texas, Skyline Drive, Big Cheese, Garden District, Indian Gardens, Jimmy Dean Jimmy Dean, Man With Wolf, Mount Lemmon, New Age, Richard Gere, Wild West, Caesar's Palace, French Quarter, Golden Gate Bridge New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Lying in bed, ermintruminating over my life. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
juh right, purple cowboy boots, litter tray Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Fort Worth, New Orleans, Miss Clara Rule, New Mexico, Ginger Hairy Hippie, Mary Love, Monty Roberts, Grand Canyon, Love Texas, Skyline Drive, Big Cheese, Garden District, Indian Gardens, Jimmy Dean Jimmy Dean, Man With Wolf, Mount Lemmon, New Age, Richard Gere, Wild West, Caesar's Palace, French Quarter, Golden Gate Bridge New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 4
books:
- Wild West (Headstart) by M Hill on page 132
- Frank Sinatra (Rock & Pop Stars) by Paula Taylor on page 33
- Planet Earth (Exploring the planets) by Duncan Brewer on page 35
- The Lucky Seven by Diana Christian on page 271
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