The Catsitters: A Novel by James Wolcott: book review

The Catsitters: A Novel (2001) is set in New York.

Johnny Downs is an aspiring actor. During the day he works as a bartender.

He lives alone, except for his demanding cat Slinky. His catsitters, called in to feed and care for Slinky when he is out of town, are his past and present girlfriends – Nicole, Amanda, Caroline, Kris, Annette …

Each of his girlfriends reject Johnny for more stable males, and yet they all know of each other and have met each other. It is a veritable play list, but Johnny wants a serious relationship. So does his cat Slinky.

And then there is Darlene, Johnny’s friend who provides a lot of advice on managing his dating life. She is in the ‘catbird seat’ – the one with the upper hand because she knows more than the other women. Furthermore, Darlene ‘can talk the twists out of a pretzel.’

This is a quick, light read. It’s limited intellectually, a bit annoying at times, and unsurprisingly predictable, but okay for a few laughs.

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MARTINA NICOLLS

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MARTINA NICOLLS is an international human rights-based consultant in education, healing and wellbeing, peace and stabilization, foreign aid audits and evaluations, and the author of: The Paris Residences of James Joyce (2020), Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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