THEM!: A Story in Five Parts

Curl Up with a Cat Tale #5

by Gwen Cooper

When an invading swarm of six-legged intruders takes over a peaceful Jersey City brownstone, there's no one to turn to except two scrappy feline warriors in the battle against . . . THEM! Gwen Cooper and her husband, Laurence, had no idea how bad an onslaught of clothes moths could get until they had to start throwing away cherished sweaters by the sackful. Their secret weapon against the stubborn six-legged pests are Clayton "the tripod" and his litter-mate Fanny—two strictly indoor black cats eager, at long last, to test their predatory prowess. But as casualties mount, and the moths meet the cats' superior size and skill with their own overwhelming numbers, the question Can two never-say-die furry soldiers ever win the war against THEM?  The latest entry in the continuing Curl Up with a Cat Tale series—true-life cat stories by Gwen Cooper, New York Times bestselling author of the smash-hit Homer's A Fearless Feline Tale—"THEM!" is a hilarious, high-octane adventure tale you won't want to miss!

Genres: Nonfiction

38 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 7, 2018

About the author

Gwen Cooper is the New York Times bestselling author of the memoirs "Homer's Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale, or How I Learned About Love and Life with a Blind Wonder Cat" and "Homer: The Ninth Life of a Blind Wonder Cat," and the novels "Love Saves the Day" and "Diary of a South Beach Party Girl."

Her latest project is "Curl Up with a Cat Tale," a first-of-its-kind monthly short-story series, featuring an all-new--and all-true!--humorous and heartfelt tale each and every month about life with her world-famous fur family. (See my website, www.gwencooper.com/cat-tales, for more details and a 60% discount!). Her work has been published in nearly two dozen languages.

Gwen lives in Manhattan with her husband, Laurence. She also lives with her two perfect cats--Clayton the Tripod and his litter-mate, Fanny--who aren't impressed with any of it.

Reviews

[Chip Luonuansuu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another enjoyable Cat Tale in the series.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another charming short story from Gwen Cooper. I especially enjoyed the chapter that was written like a scene from a Harold Pinter play..... I expect most married couples living as cat parents will relate....
Made me laugh. Thank you Gwen x

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second book for me by this author and boy this was hilarious!

I am loving all these books about cats by Gwen Cooper. I got a couple of these short novellas on my Kindle and also got two books about Homer. I am trying to pace myself, as if I would allow it I would fly through these books in a day. :P

In this second book we meet Fanny and Clayton in a set of 5 short stories (yes, short stories in a short story). A duo of black cats that cause chaos and bring love. We read about all they do (from sleeping in pans and in bowls and maybe terrorising each other), but we also get a glimpse in the life of the author. Apparently she is having a moth infestation and that means having to get rid of them. The cats are gladly helping their owners with some deadly precision. Boy, moth infestation sounds terrible btw. Not only do you have to clean everything and all, but also have to find the moths and murder them all. Including their babies. And hey, if you are working on that, you can also clean the house. I had such a laugh when Gwen and her husband were walking through their home trying to get rid of things only to find out that maybe they didn't use it.. their cats do. And how can you get rid of all those things when your cats love them and also when your cats are just looking at you with begging eyes?

Then there is the time that Gwen had a back problem and how her cats reacted to that. I had such a big laugh about how her cats reacted when they found out that their breakfast wasn't coming. How they went all batshit and how they made plans to get one of their owners to do something. Poor Gwen. Stuck in bed, her husband in another room so she could lie peacefully and without too much pain, and having two little cute terrors who demand food. The ending had me laughing, though I would probably not be laughing if that happened to me. Oh no.

I had tons and tons of fun reading this one, I really needed it yesterday. Some humour to make me happy. Yesterday my dwarfhamster Bunbun died when the anaesthetic was too much (he had two lumps and had to be operated to give him at least something of a chance). :( On top of that I got the flu. So yes, I could use any and all books that make me laugh.

I would highly recommend this book to everyone. In need for something funny? Like cats? Be sure to read this one. Gwen Cooper has a wonderful and delightful style of writing.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Gypsy R Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

They are not the THEM! I'd thought they'd be!! I imagine some could be wondering how one story about cats (though they're more than that) can end up being any more interesting or different from another. IT'S THE AUTHOR! Each story in the Curl Up With a Cat Tale series is fresh, brings new insight from the crazy to the mundane things her cats do (they're pretty unique themselves), and through the author's unique perspective + her WRITING TALENTS, Gwen Cooper makes me want to read her grocery list and then ask her to autograph it for me! Fun, touching, clever AND ALL TRUE! I want MOVIES NOW! For cat lovers, pet lovers, self-employed peeps, New Yorkers, Floridians, book lovers. Readers of any genre will appreciate and thoroughly enjoy these stories and feel connected to the characters, the towns and cities mentioned and the author.

[Michael Yearout · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it, just as I have loved all of Gwen Cooper's books. If you love cats you will love this book

[Debbie J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Them! is another quick tale of author Gwen Cooper’s crowd-pleasing adventures with her indoor housecats, Clayton and Fanny.

For some reason Cooper has broken the short story down into five parts (or chapters). Basically though, the narrative has two main plotlines involving her sorting through possibly moth-eaten clothing and having the cats “help” end the scourge of the wayward flying insects.

Cooper continues to display her quite visual writing style in Them! She makes it easy for the reader to "see" the kitties and their behavior. Cat owners will laughingly recognize typical feline antics such as announcing that starvation is nigh at o-dark-thirty while the humans try to enjoy dreamland for a few more hours.