Guest book review by Peter J Wolf
There are, it seems to me, two approaches to writing a good adventure story. A writer can either draw the reader anxiously along toward an uncertain ending, or disclose the outcome up front and let the reader settle into the adventure itself. I don’t imagine either approach is easy, but the writer who gives away the ending, does, I think, take on some particularly daunting challenges. To do it well—to produce a page-turner—as Allan Goldstein has done with The Confessions of a Catnip Junkie, is therefore commendable.
Catnip Junkie is the story of two-year-old Doo Doo, a restless orange tabby whose curiosity takes him coast-to-coast and back again, told from the perspective of an older, much wiser cat. “I am two cats,” he says. “The Doo Doo who was born of this story and the Doo Doo who lived it, fourteen years ago.”
Perhaps it’s this dual role that makes Doo Doo such a charismatic narrator, his confessions so compelling. Speaking of which, I have a confession of my own: I was a little hesitant to delve into Catnip Junkie. Four-hundred pages of cat-speak? Really? (Confession #2: I do talk to my cats, and more often than not reply—a different voice for each of them—on their behalf. Still, I do my best to spare others.) Once I picked it up, though, I found the book difficult to put down—due, in no small part, to the numerous scrapes recounted by a feline protagonist once “full of lust, mostly wanderlust.”
“I have dreams of that used-to-be-me cat being trapped all the time. He was always plotting an escape, making an escape, escaping. I wonder, how could a cat get himself stuck so often? Fourteen years later that is still a marvel to me, even more than his whiskersbreadth escapes. He still brags about those, the cat-who-used-to-be-me thought he was pretty slick. He was, but he was also an idiot. I can see that now, but he couldn’t.”
But Catnip Junkie is surprisingly touching, too—more so, I suppose, for anybody who’s ever had a cat go missing. In the end, the need to be with his people proves more powerful than the catnip that lured him away. “Having loving humans,” confesses Doo Doo, is “like the late-morning sun on your back, a belly full of food, and a head floating in the bright clouds of nipland, only better.”
With motivation like that, it’s no wonder this hero’s journey is such a delight to settle into.
ENTER TO WIN!
One lucky reader is going to receive a copy of The Confessions of a Catnip Junkie. To enter, please leave a comment on this post. The winner will be chosen in a random drawing on September 29. One entry per person. This giveaway includes free shipping to addresses in the US and Canada.
September 22nd, 2010 at 3:06 pm
This isn’t that much of a stretch. My Bengal cats talk to me all the time!!! ;O) Looking forward to reading this!
September 22nd, 2010 at 3:09 pm
Would love to read this one to my cats.
September 22nd, 2010 at 3:13 pm
Sounds like a fun book; would like a copy!
September 22nd, 2010 at 3:13 pm
Sounds like a good book!
September 22nd, 2010 at 3:13 pm
Would love to get my paws on this book!
September 22nd, 2010 at 3:17 pm
Yep, sounds like a book worth reading!
September 22nd, 2010 at 3:17 pm
This sounds like a great read.
September 22nd, 2010 at 3:17 pm
What a wonderfully original idea for a novel – I can’t wait to read it!
September 22nd, 2010 at 3:20 pm
Sounds lovely.It would be great to read this book with my orangie in my lap.
September 22nd, 2010 at 3:24 pm
I love to read stories about animals. I would love to read this one.
September 22nd, 2010 at 3:38 pm
So funny! I consider myself a kind of cat-book collector. I love to read books that involve cats, their adventures, triumphs, etc. Mostly fantasy, but I started reading non-fiction recently. Love ‘em all ^_^. My favorite is Tailchaser’s Song by Tad Williams. Great story! I might have to pick “Confesssions” up!!!
<3
September 22nd, 2010 at 3:42 pm
Kitty adventure and kitty wisdom. What a wonderful combination! I would love to read this book.
September 22nd, 2010 at 3:48 pm
I will definitely buy the book if I don’t win it. Thanks for the review and heads up.
September 22nd, 2010 at 3:50 pm
As an elementary school librarian and devoted mother to my two “boys” Caesar and Cicero it is such a juggling act to find something that I can read to them that will keep them engaged during story time without wandering off to chew on their cat nip or go prowling for the next adventure. “Confessions of a Catnip Junkie” sounds like the perfect read that will keep all three of us at the edge of our seats (mine because they are pushing their momma off the sofa as they stretch out to get comfortable!(
September 22nd, 2010 at 3:55 pm
Would LOVE to win this one, a combination of my two loves: CATS and BOOKS.
September 22nd, 2010 at 3:59 pm
Sounds like a fabulous story. I am looking forward to reading it!
September 22nd, 2010 at 3:59 pm
I can just hear George Clooney doing the vocal work for the movie version now…
September 22nd, 2010 at 4:00 pm
Sounds like a perfect winters day book to read and snuggle with my cuddly cat.
September 22nd, 2010 at 4:02 pm
I love when my kitty talks to me…Siamese…it’s in their blood! I love to read this book
September 22nd, 2010 at 4:05 pm
I am bilingual, I speak both tabby and siamese. When I speak to them, they talk back to me. You haven’t lived until you have had a argument with a mad siamese.
I would love to read this.
twoofakind12@yahoo.com
September 22nd, 2010 at 4:06 pm
This book sounds like just my cup of (catnip) tea!! Hope I win!
September 22nd, 2010 at 4:06 pm
I would really love to read that book.
(and it would also help me then while talking to the kitties about the danger of a little ‘nip)
September 22nd, 2010 at 4:10 pm
I CAN SEE ME AND MY FOUR BABYBOY FELINES CURLED UP READING THIS ONE!
September 22nd, 2010 at 4:12 pm
Cute book!
September 22nd, 2010 at 4:25 pm
Kallie wants us to read this book.
September 22nd, 2010 at 4:33 pm
I love reading cat books! Let me win!
September 22nd, 2010 at 4:42 pm
This sounds like a great book, I am a junkie for cat-related fiction and nonfiction, and this sounds like a purrfect addition to my library. I talk to my cats as well, and they talk back to me, but so far I haven’t been able to translate…
September 22nd, 2010 at 4:45 pm
Sounds like a fun read!
September 22nd, 2010 at 4:47 pm
I waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaant. Seems like a good reason to procastinate =)
September 22nd, 2010 at 4:50 pm
I love reading books from a cat’s perspective. This looks like it will be a fun read!!
September 22nd, 2010 at 4:50 pm
Would love to read this to Muffin!
September 22nd, 2010 at 4:54 pm
If I don’t win it, I will certainly buy it!
September 22nd, 2010 at 4:56 pm
It’s sometimes difficult for me to find the time to read but this sounds like a book I would make time for. Maybe it’ll give me some insights on what my kitty is thinking.
September 22nd, 2010 at 4:59 pm
I will have to add this to my list of books to read, win or not!
September 22nd, 2010 at 5:02 pm
Any cat named Doo Doo is a cat I need to know.
September 22nd, 2010 at 5:04 pm
Sounds like a great concept to me! Yes, please, I’d love a good read!!!
September 22nd, 2010 at 5:08 pm
I would love to read a book that gets me more into the mind of a cat.
September 22nd, 2010 at 5:16 pm
This is definitely something that would make a wonderful addition to my library.
September 22nd, 2010 at 5:16 pm
what a great holiday gift this would make for my GF.
September 22nd, 2010 at 5:17 pm
Sounds like another charming cat book. A must read.
September 22nd, 2010 at 5:19 pm
I love books in “catspeak”, and my cat Sir loves to be read too, but he doesn’t like alllll, books. I have a feeling he’ll like listening to fellow travler, and his adventers.
September 22nd, 2010 at 5:22 pm
I’m hooked already just by reading that little excerpt.
September 22nd, 2010 at 5:26 pm
I would read it to the kittyboys, but they might get ideas. It might be a warning as to the dangers of nip.
September 22nd, 2010 at 5:35 pm
THIS IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE BEST IDEAS FOR A BOOK NEXT TO LOLCATS..LOVE IT
September 22nd, 2010 at 5:42 pm
This looks like a fun read- I have some friends who I think would want to borrow it, too!
September 22nd, 2010 at 5:43 pm
I can’t wait to read this!
September 22nd, 2010 at 5:50 pm
This sounds cute! I will have to add to my book list. Can’t wait to read it.
September 22nd, 2010 at 5:57 pm
Yup… I think my cats qualify.
September 22nd, 2010 at 5:59 pm
I’m a voracious reader and I guess my kitty, Stocks, is too since she’s always curled up next to me. My husband received a copy of “Making Rounds with Oscar” for his birthday, which we both enjoyed. Mine is coming up in a couple weeks. “Confessions” would make a great B-day present!
September 22nd, 2010 at 6:08 pm
would love to read it!