I wanted to love this book, but DNF about 30% in. The book did not hold my interest. There was a lot of triggering backstory about Carr's dysfunctional upbringing by his alcoholic parents. I am glad that Carr found a soulmate in his beloved cat Masha.

Historian and author Caleb Carr shares the touching story of his relationship with Masha, the Siberian Forest cat he adopted. I fell in love with the author, Masha, and their incredible story. Carr writes skillfully, sharing enough detail to draw readers into this gripping and emotional story, yet tastefully refraining from sharing too much. Some parts of the story were very sweet and made me laugh, and other parts were brutal, as both man and cat suffer abuse, injury, and illness. Be prepared to feel some anguish while reading this.

I absolutely loved reading about how Carr and Masha respected, communicated with, cared for, and protected each other. It felt like a privilege having an opportunity to witness such a deep bond, and I hope those who haven’t yet experienced such a bond can learn from this.

I know some readers will disagree with Carr’s decision to allow Masha outside, but some cats experience so much distress from being kept inside that it can actually cause or exacerbate health problems. Given Masha’s history and personality, I think he did the best he could for her, and she lived a long, happy life.

I highly recommend this beautiful cross-species love story to anyone who loves animals and enjoys well-written memoirs. This should appeal to and be appropriate for a wide audience.

I received a complimentary ARC through NetGalley that I volunteered to review.

Those who appreciate literary nonfiction (and cats) will enjoy Carr's stories about the feline friends from childhood to present day. It's filled with as much heartbreak as joy, but a wonderful gathering of stories about love and loss and companionship during the best and worst times in life.

**Thank you NetGalley for a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.**

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. These opinion are completely my own.

I'm not sure how one could dislike a book written with such love. I lost my dog on Feb 3rd and this relationship made me miss her a lot.

The author Caleb Carr so deeply touched me with this heartwarming wonderful book. This is one of the most outstanding books I have every read. I read this soon after the death of my own beloved cat from cancer after a long illness. My cat and I had a similar relationship and I found myself crying throughout this book and nodding yes I remember that devotion that I miss so much. My Beloved Monster is a remarkable love story of the closest companion to the author, his soul mate cat that so deeply loved his owner. A extraordinary cat that cared for him throughout illness and protected him. Their relationship was one of respect, commitment to loving each other and sharing their souls that only a true cat lover can relate to .


This is a must read for every pet owner . The touching book is so beautifully written I found myself re reading and writing down passages. I was happily consumed by this book until the very last page. It is very helpful for those grieving the loss of their own beloved cats and will lift your spirits immensely It is a book to keep in your library and refer to often. You will reflect on your relationships with your cats and remember the good times , the love and the companionship you had with your own cat through the authors words. This is a must have book to give for gifts to all your animal loving family and friends. Thank you to the author for sharing your life with your remarkable cat. Thank you to Net Galley and to the publisher.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love cats, and stories about them, and this book did not disappoint. Masha was a wonderful cat, and this book is full of her cattitude.

If you enjoy a good tale well told, you'll enjoy this. And besides learning about Masha, you'll learn about Mr. Carr.

This is probably the most emotional and beautiful memoir I’ve ever read about the relationship we have with our furry family members. I had a 19 year old man coon ragdoll so much like Masha, that it was a joy and a burden to read this unbelievably beautiful book. Carr writes like an angel and I hope this book is read by every person with animals at home. It’s truly intimate and devastating. Through all the ups and downs, cats give us so many joys and blessings.

I have never read a book where someone was able to so identify with a beloved pet. Because of their earlier shared trauma, the author and his beloved cat developed a strong, beautiful relationship where they could understand each other better than most people. The stories of what happened to both Caleb Carr himself and the pets he had throughout his life broke my heart, but this relationship with his Masha was like a reward he earned. I haven't cried so hard over anything for years.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this.

"The #1 bestselling author of The Alienist tells the extraordinary story of Masha, a half-wild rescue cat who fought off a bear, tackled Caleb like a linebacker - and bonded with him as tightly as any cat and human possibly can.

Caleb Carr has had special relationships with cats since he was a young boy in a turbulent household, famously peopled by the founding members of the Beat Generation, where his steadiest companions were the adopted cats that lived with him both in the city and the country. As an adult, he has had many close feline companions, with relationships that have outlasted most of his human ones. But only after building a three-story home in rural, upstate New York did he enter into the most extraordinary of all of his cat pairings: Masha, a Siberian Forest cat who had been abandoned as a kitten, and was languishing in a shelter when Caleb met her. She had hissed and fought off all previous carers and potential adopters, but somehow, she chose Caleb as her savior.

For the seventeen years that followed, Caleb and Masha were inseparable. Masha ruled the house and the extensive, dangerous surrounding fields and forests. When she was hurt, only Caleb could help her. When he suffered long-standing physical ailments, Masha knew what to do. Caleb's life-long study of the literature of cat behavior, and his years of experience with previous cats, helped him decode much of Masha's inner life. But their bond went far beyond academic studies and experience. The story of Caleb and Masha is an inspiring and life-affirming relationship for readers of all backgrounds and interests - a love story like no other."

I usually avoid books about pets because I can't handle knowing they're gone. But this is Caleb Carr, and for him I make an exception. Or should I say the exception is for Masha?

I really tried to slog through this book. After all, what’s not to like? Great author telling an animal tale is right up my alley. But I struggled in reading this. It was a combination of writing style, his know it all attitude about cats, and the incredible minutiae about the landscape around his mountain home that just fried my brain. It all led me to DNF at 49%.

My thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for providing an ARC of the book.

This is a difficult one to rate. It's not often you find a book all about cat(s) from a literary writer so I was quite interested to get this ARC, and thank you for the approval. I have not read any of Caleb Carr's other novels, however, I do know his name from The Alienest, which was a bestseller. It was a big enough seller that Carr was able to build an enormous house in the wilds of upstate New York with his royalties. Good for him. (Does this happen anymore? Maybe to Colleen Hoover.)

Carr, who grew up in a chaotic, alcoholic household with an abusive father and a neglectful mother (the pair were an integral part of the "Beat Generation" and Carr was privy to all their drunken, violent, and emotionally explosive) shenanigans. As a result, he grew to bond deeply with the cats of his household (his parents sound like crap parents but liked animals). However, as they were all indoor-outdoor cats, the vast majority of them eventually disappeared on their nightly rovings, as tends to happen with indoor-outdoor cats (I know, I grew up with them too).

Carr's history with cats was beautifully delineated, and I can't think of many other books that so well describe the powerful hold that a beloved cat can have over you. And how Carr learned that his cats were the only creatures who would love him unconditionally. Not surprisingly, Carr grows up to be a rather reclusive man who has lots of professional success, but simply doesn't have the capacity for a long-term relationship, and is determined to not have children so he doesn't inadvertently pass down the abuse he himself suffered as a child.

If he was a woman, he'd be called a "crazy cat lady," But he's a man so he gets a big book deal writing about his love of cats. But that's another story.

The problem for me comes in with Carr, much as he loves his cats, refusing to do the most responsible, loving thing he can do for a cat, which is keep it inside. Despite all his childhood cats dying outside, despite the cat he has right before Masha being eaten alive outside by some predator, he goes to a shelter, adopts a cat, and immediately lets her outside. (Shame on the Vermont shelter who not adopted to Carr but didn't even interview him!)

Carr waxes on about cats as if he knows alllll about them, but much of his waxing is wrong and even laughable. He clings tightly to the notion that his cat Masha is "wild" and also gets it into his head that she is a purebred Siberian, even though the cover shows a very ordinary domestic long hair cat. I've been rescuing cats from the outdoors for 30 years and all of them are perfectly happy inside. Perhaps it is different in the countryside but even so once your cat gets eaten, you'd think you'd learn your lesson with the next one, and keep it inside.

Carr drip feeds the reader info about how much he allows the cat out- at first telling us it is just the perimeter of property, and only when he is with her. Then we learn she is hanging by a stream where predators drink and his last cat died. Then we learn the cat is seen by his brother at the very edge of his 11-acre property. Finally, Masha is getting caught up trees and GETTING BITTEN BY BEARS.

Yes, he has to rush his cat to the vet after she is nearly eaten by a bear.

Carr's solution to this is to keep her inside for a "couple of days."

At this point, I did not wish to read what was going to be the eventual painful and horrific demise of Masha, so I DNF'd.

Caleb, please do not get any more cats.

Three stars for the writing only. One star for Carr not having any common sense.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Good luck, Masha.

Wow! He really has a connection with his cat. Recommended for cat lovers, however there will be tears. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

My beloved monster is an exquisite and gripping read that demands a certain kind of strength from its readers. The bond between Caleb Carr and his "monster," Masha, is complex and rich. Carr meets Masha at an overcrowded rescue operation, when she draws him to her. Carr doesn't know that this cat has a history of abuse and is quick to attack, that she''s a cat the rescue operation fears may never be homed. But as Masha studies Carr and He studies Masha, the two come to realize that they have deep similarities that will ultimately allow them to build a remarkable bond.

As someone who has lived with cats her entire life, but has never had a bond of such intensity with one, I was fascinated by the story of Carr and Masha. His ability to read her moods, thinking, and memories (and, yes, I do think all three of these are present) has me thinking about ways to be a more reliable "teammate" for my own cats.

What makes My Beloved Monster a read requiring strength are the calamities and violences that emerge in life and that we cannot control. The book contains stories of former cats in Carr's life, and these stories contain a great deal of joy, but too often have ended unhappily. I skipped Chapter 9 and parts of Chapters 20 and 21 because The vulnerabilies they revealed were, quite honestly, more than I could bear.

My intention isn't to deter others from reading this title, it's simply to tell them to read with caution and to be aware of the ways the will and won't be able to bear the sorrows that life dishes out.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.

I have been struggling about what to say in this review. This book is filled with pain and love and hope. Through his abusive childhood and adolescence, the author found kinship with animals. Caleb Carr, is a historian and author, who has now written a heartfelt book about a cat. This unwanted, abandoned cat came into his life and may well have been the best friend he ever had. Together, they shared a special bond for more than fifteen years. They trusted each other, they were there for each other, they gave each other peace. I thank NetGalley and Little, Brown & Company for the amazing advance read.

I thoroughly enjoyed My Beloved Monster. Caleb Carr and Masha, a Siberian Forest cat, have an amazing bonded relationship. This is a story of that love and bond from when Masha chose Caleb Carr to her death seventeen years later. Masha was one intelligent cat. She and the author have so much in common in their lives from early abuse to similar illnesses. As always from this author, very well written.