My Beloved Monster Audiobook By Caleb Carr cover art

My Beloved Monster

Masha, the Half-Wild Rescue Cat Who Rescued Me

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My Beloved Monster

By: Caleb Carr
Narrated by: James Lurie
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About this listen

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.

©2024 Caleb Carr (P)2024 Mulholland Books
Pets & Animal Care Cats Feel-Good Inspiring Heartfelt Thought-Provoking

What listeners say about My Beloved Monster

Highly rated for:

Profound Love Story Beautiful Storytelling Heartwarming Cat Tale Moving Emotional Narrative
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Beautiful and Unforgettable

I loved this book! I’m a long-time fan of Caleb Carr’s novels - I think Carr has a remarkable ability to develop memorable characters without sacrificing plot. His books are dark, captivating, and generally stay with me long after I rip through the final pages. But I wasn’t sure this book would engage me like his novels. I’m not what I would consider an “animal lover,” so I hesitated.

OK, I admit I was wrong! This is an astonishing memoir. It focuses on Carr’s relationship with a beloved cat, Masha, and yes, I learned a lot of interesting things about cats and other animals because Carr always exhaustively researches his books. But to me the book soars because Carr uses his relationship with Masha to write some hard truths about life: understanding who you are, how your past has shaped and limited you, fighting against that but ultimately accepting those limitations, what it means to be fully present for someone else, overcoming challenges because you have no choice, love, connection, disappointment, loss. So many sentences were memorable for me that I wished I hadn’t listened to an audiobook version of the memoir. After finishing, I’ve spent much time thinking about it, but I still don’t understand how Carr pulled this off. He is an amazing writer who has written a beautiful and unforgettable book.

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3 people found this helpful

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Rips my heart open, cats don’t live long enough lives on this planet

Finally a book exploring the depth of the cat-human bond, and done with such prose to make anyone feel a small piece of Caleb’s connection with Masha. I was sad to learn Caleb passed away, but grateful he published this, his best work, in his time left in this plane. Enjoy your eternity with your soulmate Caleb.

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Memoir through a study of feline behavior

This is as much a poetic memoir as it is a study of feline behavior and the bond between man and beast. It will make you laugh and make you cry. It takes the reader on a personal journey and makes the story all your own. A beautiful book from a masterful writer. And if you share your life with a cat, this is a must read for you.

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The insight of the narrative to express the emotional bond between him and Marsha,

I loved everything about this book, especially the connection between the narrator and his cat, Marsha. This story has heart and depth, truth and splashes of endearing humor. The writing is stellar. It has changed my outlook towards animals, in general. Bravo is all I can say about this wonderful book. I highly recommend it to anyone who has ever loved an an animal.

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I would give this book 100 stars

I really loved this book. It made me laugh & cry. Such a beautifully written love story it broke my heart. Would have loved to know someone with such a compassionate heart for animals. Rest well and I truly hope you & Masha are running together once more ❤️

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Beautiful Tribute

Any animal lover will find this story to be a beautifully written piece that will make them laugh and cry. Well written easy to listen to.

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True love

I was not familiar with Caleb Carr until I heard and interview talking about this book on NPR earlier this year.

I expected a sweet story about a man and his cat but it’s far more than that. It’s about a man who experienced abuse and who found a cat who experienced abuse and they both became the most important beings in each others life. They loved and protected each other as equals.

Yes, I wept. And now I need time to process all the emotions this book brought up for me.

I’m going to go hug my dog now.

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The story of a loving relationship between two species

Anyone who has ever truly known the love, joy and loss of an animal will identify with the author’s story of his intertwined life with his cat, Masha. It is the story of a true loving connection between friends of different species that can only be counted as a blessing… even with the understanding of the heartbreaking “good-bye” that is inevitable.

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Heart warming and heart breaking.

Real love between a cat and a human. Carr has tremendous and enlightening knowledge of cats

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Deeply moving

This story was as delightful as it was sad. So many moments took me by surprise as Caleb’s life was so gut wrenching. I hope that there were more times of happiness for him than the sad, unfortunate times. RIP Moschie & Caleb - as you sit in the sunshine together, may you feel how many of us loved your loving relationship.

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