Such a lovely and fun book with a reminder how important our animals' roles are in our lives. I now dream of visiting Hemingway's homes in Key West and Cuba. And my past and present cats and dogs have literally been visiting me in my dreams since reading this.

Not being a Hemingway fan due to the mostly macho subject matter in his novels, I nevertheless became intrigued with him when I came across an article describing his great affection for cats. This didn't seem to jibe. How could a man known for boozing, and bullfighting be a feline aficionado?
Carlene Brennan's photo biography clarifies this aspect of Hemingway in a conversational and entertaining manner. For those looking to go beyond the usual author biography, it's suggested to check out Brennan's approach.

I am enthralled by all things Hemingway - his books, his love life, his way of life, and his cats. I have been to Key West twice to visit Hemingway's home there and I really enjoyed seeing all the six-toed cats wandering the premises. I bought this book in a local book store when I was in town last year. To my surprise, I learned from this book that the six-toed cats, known as Hemingway cats, were probably the neighbors' cats originally and that Hemingway did not have any of his own cats when he lived in Key West.

This book contains a well-researched summary of Hemingway's life in 32 chapters, focusing on his love of animals and nature. I learned quite a bit about Hemingway's most productive writing period when he lived at his farm, Finca Vigia, in Cuba. There, he established very strong bonds with quite a few cats, including Princessa, Boise, and Cristobal. According to Carlene Brennen, Hemingway cared very deeply for his cats and they cared for him, following him around in the yard, sitting with him at the dinner table and "assisting" him with his writing.

Carlene Brennen inserted quite a few excerpts of Hemingway's personal letters to family and friends, along with quotes from his mostly autobiographical novels, A Movable Feast, Islands in the Stream, and The Garden of Eden, highlighting his relationships with his cats and the people in his life. She included black and white photos from the Hemingway archives of Hemingway, his family and his pets (some of these photos had to be restored in order to be published). In addition, Carlene added her own black and white photos of cats and scenery in various locations, including Key West, Cuba and Idaho. At the end of the book, she included a list of all the cats and dogs in Hemingway's life, along with a list of other books to read. (Always nice to have suggestions for more books to read.)

As a cat lover myself, I really enjoyed reading about Hemingway's life from this perspective. It's not the most in-depth biography of Hemingway, but it is a special book worth reading if you are interested in Hemingway and his life.

I found the beginning of this book to be really boring. It was akin to reading a textbook full of dates and events. However, once the book delved into Heminway's life in Cuba, the book became far more tolerable. The focus was on his relationships with his animals more than on his writing. I was struck by the compassion that Hemingway had with all animals, but particularly cats and dogs. One major myth this book dispels is the notion that Hemingway had a colony of cats living with him at his Key West home. In fact, he never owned a single cat while he lived there! Fortunately, his Key West home, which is now a museum, has also been turned into a cat sanctuary, which I know he would deeply appreciate. I would only recommend this book to ardent Hemingway fans, who will get a distict glimpse into another aspect of this writer's personality, or to Crazy Cat Ladies (like me!).