Homer's Odyssey Review

Now, this isn't a review of the Homer's Odyssey, the epic tale of Greek heroes and quests. I have never read that high school English staple (I took AP English in high school and I was punished with A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce... I think I would have taken Odyssey over that). This review is about a wonderful memoir about a woman whose life was changed by a little blind kitty.

Homer's Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale, or How I Learned About Love and Life with a Blind Wonder Cat is written by Gwen Cooper, and retells her adventures in adopting a little stray she eventually named Homer. Homer was a stray kitten that had been found by some good Samaritans in Florida who brought him to the local animal shelter. The vet realized that Homer was sick with an eye infection, and in order to save his life, his eyes had to be removed and the sockets closed. From the time Homer was a few weeks old, he knew nothing of seeing the world and for all he knew, he was always blind. After trying for many weeks to try and adopt the little blind kitten out, the vet finally called her friend, Gwen, to see if she would give the little guy a home.

Gwen, on the other hand, had no intentions on getting a new cat. She already had two cats and was going through a little life-changing phase at the moment. But being a softie for the feline species, Gwen agreed to come in and take a look at the little guy to do a favor for a friend and humor her. Upon seeing the little two month old kitten, Gwen's heart melted and she knew he had to come home with her. There was something about the little ball of fur, something that spoke to her on a level she wasn't expecting. So after making the necessary arrangements with the vet, Gwen took him home.

The book is a great personal history of a time that most single women know all too well: the quarter-life crisis. Having just been dumped by her longtime boyfriend, Gwen was struggling to find her place in the world. She was stuck in a rut with her job, her social life, and her dating life. When she got Homer, Gwen was renting a downstairs room from a friend and was finding that she had overstayed her welcome. Now she had to find her own place to live and her place in the world. And all the while she was dealing with this well-known and oft-traveled road that most twenty-somethings go through, Homer was there, living life to the fullest and giving Gwen some much needed life lessons. While watching Homer play and explore the world as if he was a full sighted kitty, Gwen realized that if he could go through his life fearless, trying new things and exploring, and never letting set backs get in his way. Realizing that her little blind cat is living his life to the fullest, clueless to the fact he was in fact disabled.

Through stories of her life, from her move from Miami to New York City, obtaining her dream job, finding the man she will eventually marry, and even the horrors of 9/11, Gwen relates all these experiences with great care to show how her life was changed by Homer and also her two other cats. By modeling her life after the fearless, carefree life of Homer, Gwen was able to finally take her life in her own hands and achieve the goals she had always wanted. Even when Homer starts to show his age (at the time of first printing, Homer was 12 years old), Gwen continues to learn about the fragility of life and that even "fearless wonder cats" have their limits. That was a very sad chapter, and I found myself crying (don't worry, Homer survives the book!).

Kiera, 15 yr

Diesel, 8 yrs

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, since I have two big furry kitties of my own, Kiera and Diesel. Even if you don't have cats and are just an animal lover, I highly recommend this book. It's a great testament to how cats, or dogs, horses, guinea pigs or any animal can change a person's life. Many people think that getting a pet is just a normal thing, an animal to be a companion for the family, or that you're "saving the animal" from a life in the shelter. The last part may be true, but the reverse of that is also true. Pets are also known to help the owner's life improve in various ways. I know adopting my two "fur babies" has certainly helped me move through my own quarter-life crisis and got me out of a years' long funk. So I can definitely attest to the life-changing affects that pets can have on a person. It's also a great view into the life of a "cat person". There are many stories and anecdotes of the three cats living together that ring very true to most cat owners' experiences. Living with my two fur demons, I know that owning cats is not all fun and games and that cats have their own personalities and they don't always get along. In Gwen's recount of her life with her three cats, each cat certainly had their own tastes and personalities and weren't afraid to show it to the other feline residents. Scarlet and Homer often had spats, since Scarlet was the elder and "alpha" of the troupe of cats. This reminded me of how my two interact with each other: Diesel is my rambunctious troublemaker and Kiera is my sweet diva, who doesn't like how rough-n-tumble Diesel can be. But more often than not, my cats are wonderful to have around and are just sweet as pie and I can't imagine my life without them.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who has cats, loves cats, or needs a little pick-me-up in their life. On my scale of 1 (literary hari kari) to 10 (literary bliss), I give Homer's Odyssey a 7.5.