A Street Cat Named Bob and How He Saved My Life

I am so happy that I finally got around reading this because I seriously loved every page of it.
The author lived in sheltered housing and was a busker on a methadone program, trying to get off heroin, when he encountered a ginger tomcat in the hall of his building, injured, thin and exhausted. Being a cat lover, he couldn't abandon the tomcat all to himself and in the end kept him, which changed both of their lives.
The story sounds so cheesy, which is probably why I never really read this book until now - I love the cover and I love cats, but I did not expect much of this memoir. However, it is told so naturally and in such an authentic manner that I couldn't help but warm to James and Bob from page one. It feels like sitting in a show more café and just chatting to the author.
I must admit that I cried over a few chapters, for example when he describes how he finally stopped taking methadone and Bob helped him cope with the utterly terrible withdrawal symptoms he encountered during the first days. It is such a poignant story of how much animals can give to humans.
Apart from this, I also appreciated the insides the author gives into his daily life as a busker and later as a seller of the Big Issue, always being invisible or seen as a nuisance or a lazy person, while in truth working hard for a very small wage. This made me reflect on the way society (myself included) sees homeless people. So although this really is a feel good book, it does have some serious topics, but it is very readable because James is such a relatable character in his own story and simply tells the reader about what happened to him without pointing a finger. You cannot help but root for him and this is why I definitely want to read the other two books of this series. show less

"Ordinarily, no one would engage or even exchange a look with me. I was a busker and this was London. I didn't exist. I was a person to be avoided, shunned even. But as I walked down Neal Street that afternoon almost every person we passed was looking at me. Well, more to the point, they were looking at Bob... It must have looked slightly incongruous, a tall, long-haired bloke walking along with a large, ginger tom on his shoulders."

This is SUCH a sweet autobiography. It's not the most amazingly written book, it doesn't dazzle you with its exquisite prose - but you know what? Sometimes it's the story that counts, and this is a lovely one. As most of the universe will already know by now, it's about how James, a recently homeless show more recovering drug addict, finds a bedraggled ginger tom cat in his apartment building and, being the soppy sort, decides to take him in. Initially only intending to help Bob recover from various street-life-induced problems, the pair quickly become inseparable. After a while Bob starts to follow James to his busking gigs and sits by his side while he's working, earning plenty of interest (and extra coins) from passers-by. In turn, caring for Bob gives James a friend, a responsibility, someone to get up for every morning, a lifeline to happiness even during his darkest hours. This is the story of their friendship and how Bob and James changed each other's lives for the better. It's got some really tear-jerking moments, some dark ones and some all-out gorgeous ones, and I loved it. Bob and his little scarf, of course, are now famous around the world, partly thanks to his penchant for riding around London on James's shoulder!

This isn't only a tale of one man and his faithful cat - though of course, Bob is a constant theme from beginning to end - it's also a rather harrowing insight into life on the poverty line. James has been homeless, has been a drug addict, and throughout most of the book is on a methadone program to wean him off heroin. As an official busker in London, he works long days come rain or shine to scrape together enough to live on, and although Bob's presence ups his daily takings it's still not enough if sudden expenses arise. Not only that, but he's constantly vulnerable to attack by the... let's be honest here, the nasty pieces of work that riddle our society... as well as facing prejudice and verbal abuse on a daily basis.

As he starts to pull his life back together (with a little help from his feline friend), his next step is to become a Big Issue seller. This book will hopefully be a huge boost to sellers, because most people, like me, probably have no idea what this actually entails. I had no idea, for example, that for a seller the magazine is like a personal business. When they first become a seller (all sellers are licensed and given a spot to work from) they get a handful of copies for free, but after that it's up to them. Magazines must be bought (for a set price) before they can be sold on (again, at a set price), and stock must be carefully managed to avoid over- or under-buying. When the next issue comes out, some of the profit is used to buy new magazines, and so on. I didn't really know any of this, so I think I'm a lot more likely to be sympathetic to our local sellers and start picking up an issue every now and again!

All in all, this is a great little heart-warming read (especially for my fellow cat lovers). James is now fundraising to pour money back into the Blue Cross, the veterinary charity that helped him out with Bob when money was tight, which makes me like him even more. A bloody good chap - and a VERY cute cat. :) show less

The title says it all: this the uplifting story of a beautiful ginger tom whose companionship gives purpose to the life of an aimless street musician. It's not all purring and fluffiness, however. There are some tough themes such as homelessness, poverty, drug addiction and mental illness, as well as a harrowing depiction of methadone withdrawal. Nonetheless, the bond between man and cat withstands all, and together they triumph over every adversity. Both James and Bob emerge as very likeable. If you've ever loved a cat, you may see your own feline friend reflected in loyal, intelligent, irrepressible Bob.

I discovered this book when the trailer for the movie came out. I love cats, but you rarely see them in movies -- they're difficult to train. And if you do see them, with terrible CG. But then I discovered it was based on a book.

When I was in middle school, I went through a phase where I read every book, fiction or non-fiction, about cats that my library had. The Cat Who Came For Christmas, A Cat Named Norton, The Tiger on my Couch (cat psychology), books by Lilian Jackson Braun. As such, I expected much the same thing. Except this had something a little different--the cat was "owned" by a homeless heroin addict. Well, as it turns out he's not so homeless, and doesn't really "own" the cat. But he is a busker and has to deal with making show more his living around that sort.

I didn't expect much from the writing style, given the protagonist's background, but he actually pulled off something eloquent and interesting. I've mentioned in reviews of a few past memoirs how the author hasn't lived long enough or interesting enough to fill out a complete book. This one has. And it's nice to see that same kind of masculinity exhibited by Newt Scamander in real life. It's cozy and it's heartwarming without being schmaltzy. And it feels like a real-life "a boy and his X" story. show less

James had just gotten himself into housing and off the streets. He was a recovering heroin addict when he found an orange cat he called Bob. James was still struggling to feed himself, let alone feed a cat, and take on vet bills as Bob was injured when he first came to James. James was a busker and continued to busk with Bob at his side. Bob helped out in that he attracted a lot of attention, so James made a lot more money than he otherwise would have. When James was kicked out of his favourite busking spots (he was not where musicians were supposed to play), he (and Bob) switched to selling the “Big Issue”, a weekly magazine sold by people down on their luck and trying to get their lives on track.

I really liked this. Bob and James show more saved each other. It was eye-opening to read about James’ (and likely similar stories to many others living on the streets) homelessness and life on the streets, and how hard it was for him to kick his addiction. It is a quick book to read. The book itself only goes for a couple of years after James and Bob found each other, but looking them up online after finishing, I am saddened to hear that Bob died after being hit by a car in 2020. show less

It is commonly alleged that humans domesticated cats and dogs. In truth, it was the other way around. This book is evidence that the process continues.
This memoir recounts how a homeless, starving young ginger cat selects James, the author, to be the one to take him in off the streets, feed him, and have a festering bite wound tended to. In the process, James—-a struggling London street musician and recovering addict—finds a solid footing for his life.
Bowen convinced me that Bob, as he names the cat, is a feline of rare intelligence and wisdom. My belief-suspension snapped when he told of how he found Bob, who hated litter boxes, sitting on his toilet seat one morning, but a cat-lover in my family assures me that this is show more possible.
The writing style is informal. To my taste, it would have benefited from some judicious tightening at the hands of a sympathetic editor. But I’m a sucker for tales of the resilience of the human spirit. This is not only that but a testament to the resilience of the feline spirit. show less

James Bowen’s recent bestseller is a sweet “animal and their human” tale, that should appeal to anybody who loved the books about Dewey the Library Cat. Bowen was a recovering drug addict barely making a living at busking in the high-traffic areas of London, when he crosses paths with an injured male ginger cat in the hall of his flophouse. Despite attempting to avoid making the connection, Bowen feels drawn to the cat, and takes the stay in, nursing it back to health and finding a new purpose in his own life. In describing his rewarding new relationship with this extraordinary feline, Bowen reconnects with life — leaving behind the life of a starving street musician and taking on the challenges of a licensed vendor of news show more magazines. He also reconnects with friends and family from his past and gets completely off of drugs. In his own works, Bob, the street cat, saves Bowen’s life. Bob has become something of an internet celebrity, following the posting of some YouTube clips of James and Bob during their street musician days. You can now follow Bob’s adventures on Twitter and Facebook, too!

Originally reviewed for my local library's website in September 2013: http://lincolnlibraries.org/bookguide/staff-recommendations/staff-recommendation... show less