Book review: A Street Cat Named Bob

This weekend i finished reading A Street Cat Named Bob. It initially came to my attention when i was walking along in Covent Garden and spotted a guy sitting on the side of the street surrounded by people who were fussing over a ginger cat. Bit of a strange sight - even for London. I didn't want to be nosy but i couldn't help it - i love cats. As i walked past my eye caught sight of a book with the cats photo on it, it stuck in my mind and, recently, i stumbled across the book and picked up a copy to read.

The story is about Bob (the stray ginger cat) his owner James Bowen, how they met and how they changed each others lives. James - living in vulnerable housing and battling a drug addiction meets Bob and his life is no longer the same. Its a sweet and touching story. One particular chapter had me in tears; James talks about going through withdrawal as he tries to get of Methadone and how a concerned Bob places his face up close to James' to check if he was OK - i was bawling like a kid. It was very, very moving.

But it isn't all about Bob, James talks about the systems in place to help people get off addiction, life on the streets, the valuable services of the Blue Cross and RSPCA, how the Big Issue works and more without being preachy. It has certainly opened my eyes to a few things and its definitely worth a read.

And if you are interested in finding out about James and Bob after the close of the book like i was, then you'll be happy to know that they are both quite social with their own blog (Around The World In 80 Bobs) to capture all their fan mail, Facebook page and Twitter account @StreetCatBob. And if that isn't enough, there is a sequel, The World According to Bob which you can pre-order on Amazon.

Oh, did i mention that there are also rumours about it being turned into a movie? The Guardian has it straight from James lips here.


- Vanishing Point