Charming Cat Adventure for a holiday read

 

My One Extraordinary Life: A Feline Memoir, TD Arkenberg
Outskirts Press, Denver, Colorado
c. December 2021, ebook, print, 268 pp
Fiction
 
Print paperback $18.95
Hardcover, $28.85

Ebook $8.99
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About the Book:
“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.

 

My Review:

Although titled a memoir, this marvelous tail, er tale, 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 TD Arkenberg knows well from living there once upon a time.

 

In the territory of temporaries, there exist tribal hierarchies, Fluff learns, where 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. 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. As he waits for the right moment to leave the camp, he reaches out to newcomers, domesticated castoffs Penelope and Odysseus, to help them adjust and survive the harsh reality of their new status. When bullying pushes Penelope and Odysseus into fleeing the camp, they ask to join Fluff on his quest. “Dogs travel in packs, cats don’t,” Fluff says, but when dangerous conditions arise, he relents, and comes to learn that loyalty comes in all forms from all sides. 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, 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. There’s a lot going on in this page-turning story. Tempted to stay on 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 and restore not only their own families, but those of their formerly misunderstood friends.

 

The story is told in perspective through Fluff’s narration. Early on, he reminisces, “But most things in life, I’ve learned, shouldn’t be defined in absolute terms.” 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. 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. Great holiday gift.

 
About the Author

T.D. Arkenberg left the world of global airline executive more than a decade ago to pursue his dream of becoming a writer. He is the author of novels, short stories, and memoir. T.D. has an MBA from The University of Chicago and a BA in Literature from Northwestern University. He also studied at the London Business School. He’s active in several professional groups including the Barrington Writers Workshop, Off Campus Writers Workshop, and the Brussels Writers Circle. In 2016, T.D. and his spouse repatriated from Belgium. They make their home in the Chicago area along with their favorite Belgian souvenir, Puhi, a precocious tiger cat.