Esme

This was my favorite read of 2022. It is a gentle, bittersweet read that manages to be sad and inspiring at the same time. I absolutely loved this story as it unfolded and revealed the great love of one man for his friends and one cat for this man.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by George Blagden whose nuanced reading really enhanced the text of the book. I particularly enjoyed the snark he added to the cat's voice. It was perfect.  I particularly loved this line from the cat: “Humans who think we don't understand them are the stupid ones.”

This book is the story of a journey, both physical and emotional. It is filled with humor, wonder, and beauty. As the cat says of the journey: “At that moment, we were without doubt the greatest travellers in the world. And I was the world's greatest travelling cat.” 

This book is something that you should not miss if you've ever been loved by a cat. Perhaps even if you haven't.

This book was published in 1990, but the audiobook version I listened to was recorded by Kingsolver herself in 2018. My initial reaction was that she should have gotten a professional narrator, but within the first hour, I changed my mind. Her voice in this story is so personal and she allows the emotion to come out in the narration. I felt it added an additional layer of meaning to the text, which is already a treasure. While I know that people are very focused on reading contemporary texts or older classic texts, don't sleep on this one. It is wonderful, gentle, and both sad and inspiring.

These stories are delightfully creepy on their own, but read by Gaiman, who imbues them with warmth and subtle humor, well, they are outstanding. This is an anthology I will listen to over and over again. Amazing audiobook. Highly recommend.

Plenty scary!

Fascinating look at what happens to the property, owner, neighbors, and even city where an infamous crime occurs.