The Company of Cats: 20 Contemporary Stories of Family Cats (Hardcover)

by Michael J. Rosen (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Cats don't have an easy time in this collection, the companion volume to Rosen's The Company of Dogs. Serving as furry metaphors for loss and isolation, felines here are usually strays or unwanted to begin with, and often end up dead or missing. Responding as a reader rather than a protective cat lover isn't always easy; fortunately, consistently masterful storytelling assuages most of the guilt of enjoyment. Both Penelope Lively and Wright Morris contribute sly revenge tales with unfortunate cats as the vendetta vehicles. In Susan Fromberg Schaeffer's riveting "Chicago and the Cat," a scientist discovers the emptiness in his own heart only after he allows a cat named Figaro to slowly die before his eyes. The late Roald Dahl is up to his customary wickedness in "Edward the Conqueror," a tale of a dotty woman, a cat who may or may not be Liszt reincarnated, and an ominously burning bonfire. But the collection is not entirely without lighter themes: Phillip Lopate writes of a man who is gradually seduced by the imperious destructiveness of a marmalade; Merrill Joan Gerber has a flea-ridden kitten unexpectedly reinvigorate the sex life of a suburban couple. Photos, by Tony Mendoza, not seen by PW .
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description
“The Company of Cats is the perfect gift for anyone suffering from shredded sofa, hairball carpet, and de catbox potpourri. These stories are irresistible. Curl up and enjoy.”—Amy Tan

Anyone who has ever been in awe of, in love with, fascinated by, or frustrated with the fabulous feline will treasure this small, elegant, and illustrated volume of cat tales. Twenty writers, including Alice Adams, Roald Dahl, Amy Hempel, Doris Lessing, Phillip Lopate, and Bobbie Ann Mason, capture the endless charm of these proud and graceful creatures, while photographs by Tony Mendoza and an album of cartoons by Roz Chast provide visual delight. Every story expresses the unique relationship between humans and the cats who own them.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Galahad; First Edition edition (August 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0883659654
• ISBN-13: 978-0883659656
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 1.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,199,031 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too many dead cats, July 8, 1998

By A Customer

Some of the stories are fairly good. However, many are depressing, or worse. Do you really want to hear someone describe how his cat gets weaker and weaker and finally dies as he intentionally starves it to death? There are better collections of cat stories out there.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Do not buy this book, December 28, 1999

By	Darcy Surprenant (VA) - See all my reviews

If you are a cat lover, do not be fooled by the title of this book. One would assume that this book would contain heartwarming stories of cats and their owners. That is not the case. Most of the owners in these stories don't even care about their cats. In one particular story, a man starves his cat to death. In another, a man poisons his cat with toxic paint. You are even led to believe that another man throws his cat into a bonfire. I was appalled by this book. This book should be thrown in the bonfire!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Sick and Demented, September 22, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Company of Cats, The (Hardcover)

This is NOT a book for cat lovers. As I read the forward by the editor Rosen, a clear disdain for cats came through. Thinking this was odd, but would not reflect the sentiment of the authors of the short stories, I continued reading. I read the first handful of stories and was forced to stop. Each and every story I read was worst than the last one....a woman who dates a man who is mean to her cats, a man who doesn't want or like cats gets one and then ignores it, a woman finds a kitten and returns it to owners she knows are abusive and neglectful, a man who starves his cat to death. After the one about the guy who starves his cat to death I had had enough of this book and debated stop reading it. But thinking a book marketed to cat lovers couldn't possibly continue on this vein, I read one more story...a man throws poisonous objects at his cat until the cat finally eats one and dies. At this point, only 1/3 of the way into this book, I stopped reading.
Michael Rosen's disdain for cats, which came through in his forward in a weak voice, came through loud and clear by his choice of stories to include in this book...it's sick and demented.