Cleo
On sale
28th October 2010
Price: £10.99
Genre
For all those people who say they aren’t cat people, but deep down know they are.
‘Possibly the next Marley & Me‘ Red
‘A reminder of the gratitude humans owe to our companion animals’ Daily Mail
Helen Brown wasn’t a cat person, but her nine-year-old son Sam was. So when Sam heard someone mention that her cat had just had a litter, he pleaded to go and see them. Helen was powerless to resist and the deal was done – to be delivered when the kitten was big enough to leave her mother.
Tragically, just a week later, Sam was killed in a road accident. Not long after this, a little black kitten was delivered to the family’s doorstep. Totally numbed by Sam’s death, Helen had completely forgotten about the new arrival, which belonged in another universe when Sam was still alive.
Helen was ready to send her back, but Sam’s younger brother, Rob, identified with the kitten who’d also lost her brothers. Stroking her, it was the first time Helen had seen him smile since Sam’s death. There was no choice, the kitten – dubbed Cleo – had to stay.
Cleo’s immense character slowly taught the family to laugh again, giving them hope of getting back to normal. Over the next 24 years she went on to become the high priestess of Helen’s household – vetoing her new men, terrifying visiting dogs and playing an integral role in their lives to become both a guardian and beloved friend.
Optioned for film.
‘Possibly the next Marley & Me‘ Red
‘A reminder of the gratitude humans owe to our companion animals’ Daily Mail
Helen Brown wasn’t a cat person, but her nine-year-old son Sam was. So when Sam heard someone mention that her cat had just had a litter, he pleaded to go and see them. Helen was powerless to resist and the deal was done – to be delivered when the kitten was big enough to leave her mother.
Tragically, just a week later, Sam was killed in a road accident. Not long after this, a little black kitten was delivered to the family’s doorstep. Totally numbed by Sam’s death, Helen had completely forgotten about the new arrival, which belonged in another universe when Sam was still alive.
Helen was ready to send her back, but Sam’s younger brother, Rob, identified with the kitten who’d also lost her brothers. Stroking her, it was the first time Helen had seen him smile since Sam’s death. There was no choice, the kitten – dubbed Cleo – had to stay.
Cleo’s immense character slowly taught the family to laugh again, giving them hope of getting back to normal. Over the next 24 years she went on to become the high priestess of Helen’s household – vetoing her new men, terrifying visiting dogs and playing an integral role in their lives to become both a guardian and beloved friend.
Optioned for film.
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Reviews
Possibly the next Marley and Me, Cleo, is an honest and un-mawkish true story of ordinary people rebuilding their lives after a tragedy, with the help of a kitten. Even non cat-lovers will be moved.
Cat-lovers will be charmed and amused . . . a salutary reminder of the gratitude we humans owe to our companion animals.
Possibly the next Marley & Me, Cleo, is an honest and un-mawkish true story of ordinary people rebuilding their lives after a tragedy, with the help of a kitten. Even non cat-lovers will be moved.
Cat-lovers will be charmed and amused by Brown's lively description of the imperious way in which Cleo reconfigured a distraught household. And her generous and . . . admirably unsentimental account of Cleo's long life is a salutary reminder of the gratitude we humans owe to our companion animals.