The Astonishing Thing

If you’ve spent as much time with cats as I have, you may often wonder how cats see the world. How much of our human world do they understand? How do they perceive big changes, like moving or gaining a new family member? Sandi Ward offers some charming insight into a cat’s mind in her debut novel, The Astonishing Thing. It’s told from the perspective of Boo, the feline member of a normal family. But this family is about to go through some big changes that Boo perceives and contends with in her own way. 

Right away, I loved getting inside of Boo’s mind. Some of her observations are funny: She thinks that her family is going hunting whenever they leave the house; she thinks of the pet dog as simply “not-a-cat”; she loves the smell of dirty laundry and hates the teenage son’s fragrant deodorant. But Boo is also full of heart, and she’s especially close with the mom, Carrie (or “Mother,” as Book calls her). Every night Boo curls up by the Carrie’s stomach as they both sleep. The husband Tommy and the three kids are great too, but the bond between Boo and Carrie is particularly strong. 

This is why it’s so hard when Carrie leaves one day and doesn’t come back. Boo can sense that something is wrong. Everyone in the family is acting on edge and they’re arguing more than ever. Tommy is trying to step up in some ways, but the emotional toll is getting to him. What’s going on? Where did Mother go, and when will she be back? Does she still love Boo?

While I loved seeing everything from Boo’s perspective, I do wish the family’s plot had moved in a different direction. It does get pretty emotional (though not in the way you might think). It tackles important themes like mental health and how a family unit can overcome big changes, but it was a bit more serious than I’d anticipated. The drama was at times overpowering, even distracting, from what I’d hoped to get from a cat-POV book. I think if the human story arc had been somewhat different, I would have enjoyed this book more fully to the end. 

Regardless, I did enjoy The Astonishing Thing, especially due to Boo’s unique perspective. She’s such a sweet cat, and I wanted everything to work out so that she would be happy and loved. I would definitely like to read more novels like this, from the point of view of a cat, but hopefully a bit happier.