My Beloved Monster

Masha, the Half-wild Rescue Cat Who Rescued Me

By: Caleb Carr

Narrated by: James Lurie

The New York Times 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.

“The most brilliant feline portrait in literary history.” —People Magazine (Book of the Week)

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.

“Dares us to take a journey into love and pain ... My Beloved Monster is a love story and a requiem.” —Wall Street Journal

“Excellent ... Worth the emotional investment, and the tissues you will need by the end, to spend time with a writer and cat duo as extraordinary as Masha and Carr.” —Washington Post Book World

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.

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.

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.

Heart warming and heart breaking.

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

Wonderful

A wonderful story and very comforting!!! Best book I read this year. Excellent and captivating!