cover image Homer's Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale, or How I Learned About Love and Life with a Blind Wonder Cat

Homer's Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale, or How I Learned About Love and Life with a Blind Wonder Cat

Gwen Cooper, . . Delacorte, $24.95 (304pp) ISBN 978-0-385-34385-5

Cooper had every intention of saying “no” to the veterinarian who asked her if she was interested in adopting a four-week-old stray kitten with a “particular handicap.” She was fresh off a bad breakup, working a low-paying job and living rent-free in a friend's bedroom—plus she was worried about the social implications of adding one cat to the two she had already adopted: “The neighborhood kids will... say things like 'That's where Old Widow Cooper, the cat lady, lives.' ” But as soon as she picked up the tiny kitten and he started to purr, she caved. She settled on a name and brought Homer home. His intrepid explorations of his new environs quickly challenged Cooper's expectations of a blind cat. And through 12 years, six moves, several boyfriends and a showdown with a burglar, this tender and affecting book reveals Homer's lessons about love and acceptance—and how he transformed Cooper into the woman she had always wanted to be. Photos. (Aug. 25)