Cat Lady: The hot, must-read Richard & Judy Book Club novel for summer 2023 from the Sunday Times bestselling author

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It’s safer for Mia to play the part that people expect. She’s a good wife to her husband Tristan, a doting stepmother, she slips on her suit for work each morning like a new skin. Dawn O'Porter challenges the stereotypes of the typical 'cat lady' with this beautiful and emotional read' Reader review⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I saw this book on my daughter’s bookshelf and something appealed to me, so I read it. It is a collection of 3 stories written for I think 9-12-year olds. I wasn’t really sure what I was expecting so it was a surprise to find that they were, or should I say are a little scary. Mia has made the best of her life after a difficult childhood: good job, nice house and a stable marriage. OK so she loves her cat Pigeon more than her husband Tristan, is irritated by most of her colleagues, has no friends, and has to put up with her husband’s awful ex-wife Belinda for the sake of her stepson Oliver - but whose life is perfect?

Mia hasn't had a great life and she often attends support groups even though she hasn't got the problem that they relate to. In the book she attends a support group for people whose pets have died as she is so scared of Pigeon dying but obviously doesn't tell them her pet is still alive.

Really gets the reader to think about what matters in life Unputdownable and completely wonderful!’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I like to think I’ve got quite a varied sense of humour, and apparently this was “laugh out loud”, and maybe it is to some but hell no, not to me. This is the story of a woman who is unapologetically herself, a cat lady. Over the course of the book her life spirals in all different ways possible, and you do feel sorry for her as a character. But this book is just plain weird, it’s fifty shades of messed up. The moral of the story is, no one's life is perfect, which is told in both a humourous and poignant way. Mia has been living in terms of what society expects from her, rather than what she wants in fear of judgement. However, when a particular event happens, she begins to live life for herself (and obviously her cat, Pigeon) Mia has made all the right choices. She’s married, she has the nice house, the good career. But life isn’t about fitting into a box. And there’s another woman inside her who’s just clawing to get out . . .

Mia is 45, and happily married (separate bedrooms), lives in a nice house (originally bought by her hubby and his first wife), is a great step mum (although the first wife/mother is always popping round); has a great job (she has to micromanage the gormless chief executive) and is in love (with her cat, 'Pigeon') and is pretty much living the ideal conventional life, but is this the life that Mia wants?Mia has made all the right choices. She's married, she has the nice house, the good career. But life isn't about fitting into a box. And there's another woman inside her who's just clawing to get out . . . Beneath these anxieties is another insistent push-me-pull-you argument: will she be able to write, to think, if she pours her energies into creating another human being? The artists whom she most cleaves to – Suzanne Valadon, Louise Bourgeois, Gwen John, Barbara Hepworth and Tracey Emin – have alighted on different answers to this question. They have also often had to contend with the way that women who make art are treated: as outsiders, as eccentrics, as creators whose work must resist the accusation that its relation to their own lives renders it somehow lesser, “little more than an excretion”, merely “expunged from your feminine brain, just as you expel blood and milk from your feminine body”. I do not recommend this book to anyone who identifies as a Cat Lady, crazy or otherwise. Ironically I brought it forward on my reading schedule, because I was in the mood for something funny or heartwarming. It’s not in any way funny (unless you find people dealing with grief, trauma and other mental health issues amusing.) I found most of it both boring and distasteful, and then something horrible happens. It was heading for 1-star, which is rare for me, but I’ll admit I did like the ending, which redeemed it a little - but not enough to recommend it.

This is another of those books about quirky oddballs finding their place in the world that have been super popular in womens’ fiction in recent years. Lots of them are very good, unfortunately this was not. Writing in first person present, Mia describes every tiny action of her life in minuscule detail - from what she puts into Oliver’s lunchbox, to having a shower, to her and Tristan’s grotesque middle-age sex. Maybe other readers would find constant references to Belinda’s juices hilarious, I didn’t. Nothing much happens in the first half, there’s a bit of awkward social commentary, and Mia reinforces every stereotype about people who love cats. Would I recommend it? If you're a cat lover then yes, you'll probably relate to it and like it but I wouldn't call it funny. I found a lot of it quite depressing really. It's not a book I would recommend to friends. Mia, is a wonderful main character, she made me laugh (quite a lot), she's relatable, and her story broke my heart. Don’t get me wrong, if you got rid of all the uncomfortable encounters, or at least toned it down a little, it would’ve had the potential to become quite an impactful story about mental health and self discovery, and at times it was. But sweet hell, some of the encounters and thoughts that the main character had were just unnecessary and outright disturbing. I did enjoy the development of some of the characters, especially (colleague designer) and how she fought for what she believed to be right within the company, even if it did feel a little half- hearted at times. In contrast to this though, others just outright disturbed me, the main being (creepy babe guy) who had a questionable understanding of what consent was at the best of times and was just straight weird.

I adored Mia’s love for Pigeon 🐈 and how Pigeon literally got her through each day. There was some really great characters in this book and some I really wanted to scream at. It was great how Mia learnt so much about herself through this story and learns to live. I really just think that this one wasn't particularly aimed for me. I didn't get the humour or wit and I haven't read any of Dawn O'Porter's other works to compare them to. I enjoyed the fact that the protagonist was an older lady - in her 40s but she wasn't relatable to me in any way, shape, or form. She was quite repulsive. At times the story was quite extreme, but you know…..I got it. I got the fear of losing a cat even if potentially in years to come. I really didn’t want to cry at this book and I tried so hard not to but it just couldn’t be helped, I finally caved and found myself full of tears. If you’re a big emotional softie like me then you may find the last quarter of the book either upsetting and/or heart-wrenching but also heartwarming at the same time as the conclusion to the story neared. Mia is quite put upon at home, especially by her husband’s ex wife. Not something I think a lot of women would endure and I was overjoyed to see Mia handling her own with the woman’s snooty attitude. Tristan, her husband is irritating and very annoying and her high powered boss is ignorant and selfish but someone who also lives a life different to their inner feelings.

I promised my mother in law that she could have this book once I had read it, because she truly is a cat lady - not in a weird way. But, I can’t give her this book. It’s so messed up that I feel like giving her this would be a massive mistake. It’s not funny, it’s just wrong. I have read some things in this book that I really wish I could un-read. Women who love their cats are said to be projecting on to them an intimacy they are unable to experience elsewhere But life isn't about fitting into a box. And there's another woman inside her who's just clawing to get out . . .PRAISE FOR CAT LADY:'My book of the year' Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'A reminder to live your life your way. Do not recommend this book to anyone, as much as I wish I could. I was gifted this by Harper Fiction and Tandem Collective UK, but will not be tagging due to the negative nature of this review. Loonstra haar tekeningen maken dat je Crazy Cat Lady steeds opnieuw ter hand neemt. Het is een feest van herkenning voor mensen met poezen! Het is ook het ideale geschenkje voor je vriendin met katten dat je haar makkelijk per post kan opsturen om deze eenzame (hoewel; mensen met katten zijn nooit eenzaam) dagen wat op te fleuren. Blij worden zal ze met dit pareltje. Er staan tips in om zelf speelgoedjes voor je kat te maken, flowcharts om te volgen, weetjes over poezen,…

It has a strong feminist voice that felt cathartic to read. Sometimes my heart was overflowing with tender feelings and the other times I wanted to punch someone. I love the “very strange group of friends”. Obviously I love Mia’s character. I love how everything turned out, even though I think there’s a lot of little holes where the story skipped from scene to scene. That’s fine, tho. It’s still very much coherent. I just wanted it to be a bit longer. AD: Thanks to Tandem Collective UK and Harper Collins for my free copy of this book in return for an honest review] Dawn O’Porter challenges the stereotypes of the typical ‘cat lady’ with this beautiful and emotional read’ Reader review