My Beloved Monster

Masha, the Half-Wild Rescue Cat Who Rescued Me

De: Caleb Carr

Narrado por: James Lurie

The #1 bestselling author of The Alienist tells the extraordinary story of Masha, a half-wild rescue cat who fought off a bear, tackled Caleb like a linebacker—and bonded with him as tightly as any cat and human possibly can.

Caleb Carr has had special relationships with cats since he was a young boy in a turbulent household, famously peopled by the founding members of the Beat Generation, where his steadiest companions were the adopted cats that lived with him both in the city and the country. As an adult, he has had many close feline companions, with relationships that have outlasted most of his human ones. But only after building a three-story home in rural, upstate New York did he enter into the most extraordinary of all of his cat pairings: Masha, a Siberian Forest cat who had been abandoned as a kitten, and was languishing in a shelter when Caleb met her. She had hissed and fought off all previous carers and potential adopters, but somehow, she chose Caleb as her savior.

For the seventeen years that followed, Caleb and Masha were inseparable. Masha ruled the house and the extensive, dangerous surrounding fields and forests. When she was hurt, only Caleb could help her. When he suffered long-standing physical ailments, Masha knew what to do. Caleb’s life-long study of the literature of cat behavior, and his years of experience with previous cats, helped him decode much of Masha’s inner life. But their bond went far beyond academic studies and experience. The story of Caleb and Masha is an inspiring and life-affirming relationship for readers of all backgrounds and interests—a love story like no other.

©2024 Caleb Carr (P)2024 Mulholland Books

Amazing heartfelt and tearful

Thank you Caleb for this amazing book. Your journey with Masha tugged at my heart and brought me to tears. I recently lost a beloved pet and have been feeling lost and alone. Your words were the elixir I needed to continue to heal my soul. Your connection with cats and the ability to articulate how deep and important these connections are between animal and caretaker are spot on. I could not stop listening to each word only taking breaks to feed my own cats, refill the tissue box and take a nap with two of them on my lap. I hope you and Masha are reunited and wandering the Hollow right now.

Beautiful and heartbreaking

As a lifetime lover and mom of cats, I was anxious to listen to this book after seeing a positive review in People. The story was so sweet. The story of a man and his cat, their ups and downs together. The pains they both went through and a story of friendship and loyalty. It reminded me of my own history with cats, particularly the loss of a couple who I was especially bonded with. I cried as I listened to the last chapter as anyone who has ever loved a pet will. It was well read and a truly touching story of unconditional love.

The best of the best.

This book is the tale of an true storyteller and his amazing cat. I couldn't stop reading.

My Beloved Monster

A beautiful lovingly told story of life with and love of cats and the bonds we form with them.

The Love between them

The book was written so well I was him and he became me. Similar relationships with a soulmate cat.

His perception and knowledge of cats

Only a true cat person could understand this book thankfully. Gave use to adopt another cat soon!

The Best Book about Cats Ever Written

I truly loved this book. If you’re a cat person or an animal person you should listen/read this masterpiece. This will be the book that Caleb Carr is remembered for.

True love

I was not familiar with Caleb Carr until I heard and interview talking about this book on NPR earlier this year.

I expected a sweet story about a man and his cat but it’s far more than that. It’s about a man who experienced abuse and who found a cat who experienced abuse and they both became the most important beings in each others life. They loved and protected each other as equals.

Yes, I wept. And now I need time to process all the emotions this book brought up for me.

I’m going to go hug my dog now.

The story of a loving relationship between two species

Anyone who has ever truly known the love, joy and loss of an animal will identify with the author’s story of his intertwined life with his cat, Masha. It is the story of a true loving connection between friends of different species that can only be counted as a blessing… even with the understanding of the heartbreaking “good-bye” that is inevitable.

Heart warming and heart breaking.

Real love between a cat and a human. Carr has tremendous and enlightening knowledge of cats