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A Year of Cats and Dogs Audiobook
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(3.09) - 121 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
What happens when nothing happens? Maryanne wonders in A Year of Cats and Dogs, a darkly funny yet hopeful novel about a woman in midlife who feels surrounded by death. She answers her own question by deciding to find out.
"I wanted to embrace entropy, to stop working so hard at keeping things up, to go AWOL from the productive world I'd so long been a part of," she tells us at the beginning of the novel. "The clearer it became that Phillip wasn't coming back, the more I wanted to hurry up and let things go just to see what would happen."
As it turns out, a lot happens. Even as Maryanne's world slows down and comes apart, curious revelations begin to emerge about the daily life she's formerly taken for granted. She discovers she can hear the thoughts of animals, starting with her own opinionated dog and cat. Then the veterinarian at the animal shelter where she volunteers offers her a job as a dog whisperer and asks her on a date to his mother's funeral. When her father falls ill, she is reunited with her estranged sister, and when he dies, they learn about his secret life.
The book contains recipes for the consoling, if plain, foods Maryanne cooks for her family and friends, along with the inner dialog that accompanies them, and each chapter is linked to a corresponding chapter in the I Ching, reflecting that book's age-old wisdom that says that sometimes no action is the best action of all.
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"As a person who loves cats and dogs, and wonders about the inner workings of their minds (and how they interact with their humans), I enjoyed this very much. Highly recommended. "
— Deb (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“I relished this quirky, sparkling novel.”
— Julia Keller, Pulitzer Prize–winning Chicago Tribune critic -
“Hawkins is a fine writer. A Year of Cats and Dogs would make a great stocking-stuffer for the holidays and, for sure, be an up-front offering at animal leagues, pet shops, and shelters everywhere.”
— Independent (London) -
“Hawkins spins an offbeat and delightful tale of a midlife anti-crisis…The unhurried and lighthearted narrative…is a pleasant departure from the standard midlife crisis story.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“Hawkins…has a fashioned a first novel that deftly traces the eruption and easing of emotional incoherence, while addressing serious questions of life and death with jaunty and edgy humor not unlike that of bestselling Jennifer Weiner.”
— Booklist -
“Hawkins seamlessly weaves together many eclectic elements: soup recipes, I Ching meditations, bits of maudlin poetry, a pet’s simple request for toast, the heartache of death. You don’t have to be an animal lover to enjoy this funny and moving debut novel.”
— Library Journal
A Year of Cats and Dogs Listener Reviews
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" Overall, a "meh" book. Not terrible, not amazing.... Just meh. "
— Stephanie, 2/15/2014 -
" the title drew me in - and I enjoyed this book. The author had a way of describing her feelings about her divorce in a way that I related to. And of course enjoyed the animals! "
— Janeene, 2/6/2014 -
" The first half of this quirky first-person POV debut novel delighted me so much that I sent a note to the author through the publisher telling her I took it with me to the doctor's office and hoped the doctor would be running late so I could read and read and read in the waiting room. The main character, an under-achieving middle-aged woman, puts her past behind her and finds that she can read the minds of her pets, and vice versa. That sounds corny, I know, but this writer pulls it off, so convincingly, and with such humor, that I found myself thinking, Of course we can read one another's minds! Why not? But then the author, like her protagonist, wanders off from the life she's made, and the book falls away, losing its focus, its intention, and much of its sense of humor. What happened? This might have been THE book to head up my end of the year gift-list must-buys for literary friends. It was headed there. For the dry humor and spirit of the first half of the book, I still rate it highly--and I'll look for novel #2 from Margaret Hawkins. "
— Anastasia, 12/13/2013 -
" Dog whisperer. Middle aged woman coping on her own. The best! "
— Jean, 12/5/2013 -
" Got several chapters in and was trying to decide if I could finish this book, or not. It was quite depressing to me, but hoped the cats and dogs would pull it out for me. Then the author throws in the "F" bomb and I figure that clinched it for me. I don't see any redeeming value in a book that uses profanity so casually. I quit it. "
— Granny, 11/29/2013 -
" Overall, it was quirky but not quirky enough (it needed to be one or the other) which was my biggest problem with it. I kept waiting to fall in love with the main character and it never happened. It was an easy read but I could easily pick it up and put it down. "
— Christie, 11/20/2013 -
" I read this book - or a version of it - a couple years ago. "
— Darshan, 5/17/2013 -
" Loved this book; finished it in one reading! "
— Betty, 1/6/2013 -
" Watch for my review on IBR. This was an awesome read! "
— Ann, 12/2/2012 -
" Found this quite engaging and a nice change of pace from my normal mystery reads. "
— Deb, 11/14/2012 -
" loved this quick book about a midlife anti-crisis "
— Connie, 8/31/2012 -
" As a person who loves cats and dogs, and wonders about the inner workings of their minds (and how they interact with their humans), I enjoyed this very much. Highly recommended. "
— Deb, 7/15/2012 -
" I read this book - or a version of it - a couple years ago. "
— Darshan, 3/12/2011 -
" Found this quite engaging and a nice change of pace from my normal mystery reads. "
— Deb, 10/4/2010 -
" Very mindless, which is probably what I need. Maryanne's boyfriend leaves her, she quits her job and begins hearing animal's thoughts. Each chapter is based on I Ching......<br/>And the book has large print! Definitely perfect for my back-to-school brain! "
— Sandra, 8/29/2010 -
" Dog whisperer. Middle aged woman coping on her own. The best! "
— Jean, 8/26/2010 -
" Loved this book; finished it in one reading! "
— Betty, 5/24/2010 -
" the title drew me in - and I enjoyed this book. The author had a way of describing her feelings about her divorce in a way that I related to. And of course enjoyed the animals! "
— Janeene, 12/31/2009 -
" loved this quick book about a midlife anti-crisis "
— Connie, 11/19/2009 -
" Gently funny and slyly brilliant. "
— Suzanne, 11/11/2009
About Margaret Hawkins
Margaret Hawkins is the author of a few novels, including A Year of Cats and Dogs, Lydia’s Party, and How to Survive a Natural Disaster as well as a memoir about her sister, After Schizophrenia: The Story of My Sister’s Reawakening. She has also written for the Chicago Sun-Times and is a senior lecturer at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
About Heather Henderson
Heather Henderson is a voice talent, theater critic, and dramaturg. In addition to narrating audiobooks, she has voiced hundreds of commercial and educational projects, and her arts reviews and poems have appeared in newspapers and magazines across the country. She holds MFA and DFA degrees from the Yale School of Drama. She lives in Oregon.