Action Adventure Catitude
Few humans lead an extraordinary life. I’ve come to that conclusion from my years of scrutinizing the tribe of upright walkers. My credentials? I’m a cat.
And with that bold assertion, Fluff invites readers into his exceptional feline world. We meet the outspoken tabby as a kitten. He lives with his mother and siblings in a cardboard box in the heart of Brussels. Charmed by exotic tales of a seasoned street cat called Grumps, Fluff dreams of adventure. But he can’t quite muster the courage to venture out on his own. His family’s disappearance forces his paw. He sets out with Siamese newcomers, Penelope and Odysseus. Once posh and pampered housecats, the brother and sister won’t survive the urban jungle without their new friend’s help.
The trio encounters unexpected dangers: two- and four-legged villains; their own naiveté; and a city swarming with animal traffickers. Strays are disappearing from the streets, Fluff’s family among them. In their bid to save the catnapped felines, the three companions become targets themselves. Adventure turns into a harrowing game of intrigue where they’re both cat and mouse.
Set in the picturesque European capital, My One Extraordinary Life entertains with lush descriptions, sinister scoundrels, and lovable heroes. Nonstop action and fur-raising twists make Fluff’s memoir a ‘pawsitively purrfect’ page-turner.
Review by Lisa Lickel.
Although a memoir, My One Extraordinary Life: A Feline Memoir, is really a fictional autobiographical adventure of one Dickens-quoting, Twain-reading homeless camp cat, Fluff, who learns the world is bigger than his slightly squashed cardboard container. He has a role to play, even if the first step is to venture outside of one’s box in the European city of Brussels, a place author T.D. Arkenberg knows well from living there once upon a time.
In the territory of temporaries, Fluff learns that there exist tribal hierarchies. All manner of creatures exist side by side, and humans are known as “uprights.” When Fluff comes home from one of his romps, only brother Auguste welcomes him. However, it’s not long before Fluff is abandoned with the dismal advice that “it happens to us all. Time for you to stand on your own four paws.” Grumps, an older cat, has filled Fluff’s head with tales of adventure, and when Fluff believes he’s been orphaned, he decides, though hesitant and fearful, to dream big and explore the world and hopefully find his lost family. It’s not always easy to know who to trust, and sometimes one just has to get his paws dirty to achieve results.
Betrayal and misconceptions abound, clarify, twist, and shimmer as these friends get separated. They run into old chums and make new ones, reunite only to be recaptured, find themselves embroiled in “turf issues,” uncover a dastardly international trafficking scheme and an even greater horror of biological terrorism and research. A lot is going on in this page-turning story. Tempted to stay in certain posh situations when they occasionally meet a human they think of adopting, the friends overhear rotten plans and resolve to rescue the victims.
Friends need friends. When Fluff and Penelope realize they’re in over their heads, they reach out to both known and new two and four-leggeds to assist them as they work to thwart the traffickers. They work to restore their own families and those of their formerly misunderstood friends.
Filled with delicious cat-themed puns, Brussels street life, danger, adventure, and even romance, readers of Lillian Jackson Braun will love My One Extraordinary Life: A Feline Memoir. As we’re encouraged in the author’s introduction to recognize and appreciate our lives, this story of using our wits, paying attention to the small things, networking, and taking a risk should spark introspection and conversation. I highly recommend this as a holiday gift.
