Book Review: Cat's People by Tanya Guerrero

I was initially drawn to Cat's People because the cover featured a very cute black cat (and I'm a sucker for books with cats on the cover). I eventually realized that it ticked three more items off on my personal list of elements that make a book appealing to me, namely: 1) the cat would be a central character, 2) this is set in New York, specifically in a Brooklyn neighborhood and 3) it's written by a Filipino author.

Cat's People wound up being a mostly cozy (if not without its heavier/darker moments because, after all, New York is a city of contradictions) everyday sort of story where a number of individuals find their lives intertwined because of a stray black cat known only as 'Cat'. I didn't necessarily empathize with the human characters, though I did feel sympathetic towards their different life situations. This is likely due to the perspective shifts with every chapter; it didn't give me quite enough time to really sink into a character's head and get to know them a little bit more intimately. We also don't get a lot of the individual situations resolved in a clean, tidy fashion by the end of the book (just like in real life sometimes), though we do turn that very last page at least feeling warm and fuzzy due to the group's found family vibes.

I did, however, quite enjoy Cat's perspective chapters. There was just something so fun, and pure, and wholesome about his view of the world and these humans that he cares about. I liked how the author imagined moments and details from his perspective; those sections entertained me greatly.

Reading Cat's People was a welcome change of pace, given that it's very much a slice of life tale. I'm always intrigued by stories where character lives intersect (which I've found a lot of in translated fiction in the past few years), and this was no exception. Cat's People might be a simpler tale than most, but I appreciated the time I spent reading it since it was just right for my mindset then.

Cat's People by Tanya Guerrero

Publication Date: April 1, 2025

Publisher: Delacorte Press | Format: e-book

Source: e-book borrowed via Libby

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