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A Street Cat Named Bob
A Street Cat Named Bob
And How He Saved My Life
by James Bowen
The Instant New York Times Bestseller!
James is a street musician struggling to make ends meet.
Bob is a stray cat looking for somewhere warm to sleep.
When James and Bob meet, they forge a never-to-be-forgotten friendship that has been charming readers from Thailand to Turkey.
A Street Cat Named Bob is an international sensation, landing on the bestseller list in England for 52 consecutive weeks and selling in 26 countries around the world. Now, James and Bob are ready to share their true story with the U.S. in this tale unlike any you've ever read of a cat who possesses some kind of magic.
When street musician James Bowen found an injured cat curled up in the hallway of his apartment building, he had no idea how much his life was about to change. James was living hand to mouth on the streets of London, barely making enough money to feed himself, and the last thing he needed was a pet. Yet James couldn't resist helping the strikingly intelligent but very sick animal, whom he named Bob. He slowly nursed Bob back to health and then sent the cat on his way, imagining that he would never see him again. But Bob had other ideas.
Perfect for fans of Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog and Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat That Changed the World, this instant classic about the power of love between man and animal has taken the world by storm and is guaranteed to be a huge hit with American fans as well.
The Instant New York Times Bestseller!
James is a street musician struggling to make ends meet.
Bob is a stray cat looking for somewhere warm to sleep.
When James and Bob meet, they forge a never-to-be-forgotten friendship that has been charming readers from Thailand to Turkey.
A Street Cat Named Bob is an international sensation, landing on the bestseller list in England for 52 consecutive weeks and selling in 26 countries around the world. Now, James and Bob are ready to share their true story with the U.S. in this tale unlike any you've ever read of a cat who possesses some kind of magic.
When street musician James Bowen found an injured cat curled up in the hallway of his apartment building, he had no idea how much his life was about to change. James was living hand to mouth on the streets of London, barely making enough money to feed himself, and the last thing he needed was a pet. Yet James couldn't resist helping the strikingly intelligent but very sick animal, whom he named Bob. He slowly nursed Bob back to health and then sent the cat on his way, imagining that he would never see him again. But Bob had other ideas.
Perfect for fans of Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog and Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat That Changed the World, this instant classic about the power of love between man and animal has taken the world by storm and is guaranteed to be a huge hit with American fans as well.
Reviews-
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April 1, 2013
Bowen isn’t exaggerating; when he met a stray ginger tomcat (whom he named Bob after the creepy character on Twin Peaks), he was estranged from his family and recovering from heroin addiction, supporting himself as a street musician in London, and depending on the kindness of strangers. His chance encounter with Bob in 2007 changed everything. The injured animal attached himself to Bowen, and quickly proved more than just an emotional asset; in the competitive world of busking, passersby began donating more money after Bob took up position next to Bowen’s open guitar case. With Bob’s friendship bolstering his spirits, and after a warning from the police, Bowen shifts to real work, selling the charity magazine Big Issue and getting off methadone. Despite the grimmer passages in the book—a run-in with a vicious dog, tension with fellow Big Issue vendors that lead to serious consequences—the book is positive on the whole. Bob becomes an Internet celebrity via YouTube videos taken by passerby, and Bowen reconciles with his mother and returns home to Australia for a cathartic visit. Given Bowen’s inherent decency, he might well have turned things around even without his feline friend, but he convincingly makes the case that Bob was the cat-alyst. Agent: Mary Pachnos, Aitken Alexander Associates. -
Booklist (starred)
"Stellar...A beautiful, never maudlin story of second chances for both man and beast and a poignant testimony to how much caring for someone -- or some feline -- can give you renewed direction where you're down and out. Understandably, this was a best-seller in England."
- Bookseller (UK) "Fans . . . queued around the block at James and Bob's first signing. The purrfectly behaved Bob signed an impressive 180 books in just two hours."
