I & Claudius: Travels with My Cat

Of course you will read all the other reviews here, and they are pretty right-on. Clare is a bit of a female Holden Caulfield; she is amusing and appealing while going through real trauma and not always behaving well. Unlike Holden of course, she is real and this is a true story. However, do not mistake "I & Claudius" for a how-to-travel-with-your-pet manual or a travel guide to the United States. This is HER story (and Claudius' ). I cried so when it ended-- because it was beautiful and because I was sorry it was over!

At age 28, journalist Clare de Vries of England decides her life needs shaking up, so she embarks on an auto tour of the United States with her pet Burmese cat of 19 years, "Claude". I & CLAUDIUS is their on-the-road story as they start out in Connecticut, then head south through New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana, then west through Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and southern Nevada to the Pacific at Los Angeles, then finally north to the San Francisco Bay area. As Clare describes it early on, her route is a smiley face on a map of America. Clare can be endearingly ditzy. At one point, she all but admits not knowing that cars need regular infusions of motor oil to run. She drives west ignorant of the difference between Las Vegas, NV and Las Vegas, NM until she arrives at the latter and can’t find the bright lights and casinos. She carries on imaginary conversations with Claudius, the back-and-forth repartee of which is recorded in the book as if she was talking to another human. She can also be infuriating. An understated need of her journey is to find Love, or at least Lust. Yet her taste in men is so abysmal that she consistently attaches herself to Complete Losers. .... She blames it on a fear of commitment. Only Claude has her heart.Claudius, on the other hand, is the coolest feline on the planet. Perhaps it’s mellowness due to his advanced age (133 in human, biological clock years). I can’t even imagine my own cat, Trouble, sitting quietly on my lap for the entire duration of a western rodeo. Or on my lap in a 4-seater, light plane flying over the Grand Canyon abyss. Claudius manages every experience with aplomb, though his serene composure did crack a bit when faced with a bear noshing from his food dish. I & CLAUDIUS is a touching and amusing travel essay, though the smiley face on Clare’s map is a bit forced at times due to her angst over what she expects to be her pet’s sooner-than-later demise. (He is, after all, 19 cat-years old.) Occasional crises, real or imagined, in Claude’s health are interspersed with droll car, motel ("No Pets Allowed") and man problems. Indeed, it’s a minor miracle that Clare found time to enjoy any of America’s attractions. (Claudius apparently did. While on the road, he became addicted to KFC – regular, not spicy.) One of the funniest incidents is that of the Tarantula-Under-the-Car-Seat. (I was tempted to peer under the seat of my own sedan after that anecdote!) And the montage of color photos on the inside of both the front and back covers of the paperback edition is a very nice touch. I unreservedly recommend this book to any cat owner whose pet is also a true pal. ....

Clare De Vries - Intelligent, beautiful and just a little bit crazy.Claudius - Clare's alter ego. A wise old philosophising cat. One of the few sane males in the entire book and the only male that Clare loves unreservedly.Running away from her past (the death of her mother) and unwilling to face the future (the inevitable demise of her cat), Clare embarks upon a cathartic journey across America, accompanied by her old and ailing cat, Claudius.With a typically British arrogance when abroad (in her case endearingly so), and not caring about local custom or etiquette (When In Rome, and all that), Clare is feisty and outspoken. Willing to stand up for herself and not at all bothered as to whom she upsets. In all her audacious escapades Clare's basic attitude throughout is - Just go for it. Dive in with both feet and damn the consequences.Possessing a very savage wit, with irony and sarcasm thrown in for good measure, Clare takes no prisoners. Of the Americans Clare meets, most fail to realise what has hit them before it is too late. They are bemused by her antics, unsure of how to deal with her, and are certainly at a loss to understand her humour. Which leads to some very funny scenes and glorious misunderstandings.Clare's journey consists of a) staying in some of the most disgusting and roach infested Motels in America b) getting totally off her face as often as possible, and then picking fights and causing arguments with anyone and everyone c) obsessing about sex with the perfect male and being always on the look out for her Adonis d) meeting psychos (see previous).As well as attracting the seriously deranged Clare actively seeks them out - Obsessed People, oddballs, the dangerously psychotic and out and out Loons.Constantly worrying about Claudius' progressively ill health, Clare suffers violent mood swings, despair and deep depression. There are moments when you cannot help feeling that Clare is wildly out of control and self destructive as she careers across America from one crazy disaster to another.You are transfixed by the increasingly bizarre and often extremely dangerous adventures that Clare manages to get herself into. But Clare is not stupid. Using all her feminine wiles and beguiling charm she manipulates men and suckers them into doing her bidding. And with a strong survival instinct, plus a little luck, Clare manages to extricate herself from sometimes violent and potentially lethal situations.By turn's laugh out loud hilarious, moving, hair-raisingly reckless, madcap and scary, this is a wonderful book and a cracking page-turner. Edge of your seat stuff and a joy to read. If you are open to high adventure, decidedly weird people and strange encounters, then Clare is your ideal travelling companion.Although significantly different in style this is the best travelogue across the American Heartland since Martin Fletcher's `Almost Heaven'. Highly Recommended. More Please.

What a wonderful idea and story... for the cat lover and for anyone who has ever dreamed of hitting the road just to "find themselves." Way to go, Clare and Claude, for having the nerve to do what the rest of us only dream about. Claude will be missed by those who knew him. I am glad his last days can now be shared with everyone in the world.

Clare is an enchanting woman and reflects it in her new novel! I and Claudius is a no-holds-barred look at America through the eyes of a gutsy Brit. This is a story of fun and high adventure. It is related by, perhaps, the most unlikely of chroniclers, and her (also most unlikely) cat. This is also a story of a young woman finding the path to her future, and excorcising the ghosts of the past. She is an inspiration for all of us. You will find yourself splitting your sides laughing one moment, and have tears rolling down your cheeks the next. A must read, and very difficult to put down! I had the good fortune to meet this brilliant woman during her travels. Her insights into the "heart" of America are warm, thought-provoking, and absolutely precious.\ Do not miss this one!