William Jordan (1) (1944–)

The author was not a cat person, but when he came across a stray (at a time when the author was feeling lonely), there seemed to be a connection. He brought the cat he later named Darwin (the author is a biologist) in and gave him food. There was a back and forth between inside and outside, then on or off the bed, etc. Darwin wormed his way into the author’s heart, but it wasn’t long before Darwin was diagnosed with FeLV (feline leukemia). Darwin only lasted another year before he died.

I loved Darwin and enjoyed the parts most that focused on him. The author brought in some philosophy of things he learned from Darwin and, though I’m not usually a fan of philosophy, I actually found this quite interesting. I did disagree with a lot of decisions the author made, especially as Darwin got more and more sick, but I still rated it as high as I did, primarily because of Darwin himself. The book hit close to home, as I have been dealing with a palliative cat for a few years now, myself (he’s now 20 and still mostly doing ok, but it’s tough).… (meer)

A Cat Named Darwin is one of the sweetest, but sad books, I have read in a long time. William Jordan writes in a lyrically pithy prose about the cat who stole his heart. Jordan is a scientist by training and in a true scientific way tried to analyze his love and attachment to his cat, only to realize that some feelings cannot be told through logic and facts. It is amusing to read Jordan try to rationalize his relationship with his pet. This is a fast read, the end of the book is poignant and touching.… (meer)