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ReviewsFrom Bookreporter.comFrom Newsday: Writer Gets a Life (And a Death or Two)From Amazon |
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"She'd cringe at the comparison, but Stacy Horn is a real-life Bridget
Jones. Except, of course, that Stacy's situation is worse: she's
fortysomething, not thirtysomething, and already lives with two cats.
What's even worse is that her cats--who aren't related, by the way--are
both diabetic. She's having a midlife crisis, watches too much TV ("Look,
I'm not saying it's ideal, but I would call watching TV a life"), and is
obsessed with death:
I keep coming back to death the same way I can't stop touching a sore tooth with my tongue to see if it still hurts. Death. Still terrifying? Yes. How about now? Yes. And now? Yes. She spends her days drumming with a samba group, pulling weeds in graveyards, praying to dead relatives, caring for her diabetic cats, crafting detailed fantasies, and running EchoNYC, the online community that she created. Why on earth would anyone want to read about that? Because it's funny; sometimes, even laugh-out-loud-then-feel-sheepish-because-you're-on-the-bus funny. Stacy's shocked realization that she is in the unconscious habit of shouting out her cats' nicknames while she walks down the street ("Munches!" "Boo!" "Belly!") is worth the price of the book alone: So it hit me: I am one of those crazy people who talks to herself on the street, one of the ones who makes you wonder where she came from and how she got to this sorry state. Great. How did I get to this sorry state, yelling to cats who are not there? Waiting for My Cats to Die also can be heartbreaking, however, as in some of the brief interviews that she conducts with elderly people, or when she reveals her fears that she'll spend the rest of her life alone, or when one of her cats does indeed die. In the end, however, Stacy is hopeful, love," she will "fall in love with everyone and everything a little." Tama Janowitz describes reading the book as being "like getting to hang out with a wonderful friend." We should all be so lucky to have friends as genuine, and funny, as Stacy Horn." --Sunny Delaney From Booklist"Horn's thoroughly honest appraisal of herself and her life will so endear her to readers that many will wish they could hang out in the tiny Greenwich Village apartment with her, the cats, and the resident ghost. Indeed, to read these moving, surprisingly funny essays is to see the world through Horn's intelligent, caring, if death-obsessed, eyes and remarkably, to enjoy the view. For someone who can't stop talking about death, Horn makes a strong and lovely statement about the joy of life." Here are the blurbs from the back cover."The strange, charming story of a channel-surfer and her cats." --Mary Gaitskill. "Reading Stacy Horn's book is like getting to hang out with a wonderful friend. --Tama Janowitz. "...I shouldn't be writing a blurb for this book. The author is a friend mine ... I'm the one who's her ghost consultant ... but Waiting for My Cats to Die is ... a unique reflection on the oldest meaningful subject in the world: death. Stacy Horn is obsessive in her meditation on mortality. She is powerfully affecting as well: there are moments in the story that will enwrap you in heartbreak. There are also moments--and not just a few--that will catch you off guard, in the surprise of your own laughter." --Mikal Gilmore. [HOME] |
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