The Lotus Eaters ~ Tatjana Soli

Oh how this book took me by surprise and hooked me in. I have always enjoyed stories set in Vietnam. Must come from being a Vet's daughter. I loved Nelson DeMille's Up Country and spent much of the book calling my father to ask if he had been there, done that. This book was an accident. I literally tripped over a review flipping through a magazine. It sounded interesting so I downloaded it to my Kindle. The rest they say is history. I have been up way too late the past two nights absorbed by the characters and story. The writing is so visually smart it is like watching a movie. In fact I feel sure we will see the adaptation on the big screen one day. I am glad Soli began with an older, wiser Helen then moved back through time. The younger, less seasoned Helen can be a bit annoying. I am only half of the way through it but look forward to reading more tonight.

I miss this cat so much I feel as if there is a physical hole in my heart that one could look right through. What made him perfect?

How cute he was when we first brought him home...hiding under the bedside table every time we walked in his room, sleeping spread out across my neck, bathing my face in the middle of the night.

He became such a dog lover... grabbing Isaac's face and licking him, curling up in the smallest of balls with his back touching Isaac's sleeping body, meowing like crazy when the dog returned from anywhere no matter how short an absence.

Some of his favorite things:
Chasing anything that moved. Stalking birds. Rolling in dirt and sand. His fuzzy blanket on his red chair. His donut bed upstairs. Jumping out from behind clothes while you try to get dressed in the morning. Beating up his older sister. WET FOOD! Cat nip.

I know one day these memories will fade and I will think of him fondly without obsessing on every detail but it is too fresh now. So be warned: you do not want to ask me how I am doing.