Book Review: Henri, le Chat Noir: The Existential Musings of an Angst-Filled Cat by William Braden

It was just a link to a video and it was the first time I visited Tracey's blog over at Pen and Paper. The image showed a cat. I love cat videos, I thought, so I clicked on it, but I was completely unprepared for the malaise I was subjected to by Henri. I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard. Perhaps when I was watching a video of Simon's Cat. I used to link on the Caturday thread at Fark every Saturday for my LOL cats, but this was so much more and yet so much less.

I had to share the video with everyone I knew and I posted it on Facebook. I watched it more than once. I laughed just as hard every time I watched it. In gathering images for this post, I was happy to find that there are more Henri videos and I must watch every single one.

I met Grumpy cat, well, we weren't properly introduced, but I was so close to her. They wouldn't let me take a close up, though, without getting on the line from hell. You'd think Star Wars was being released in the theater again the line was so long. So, while I wasn't introduced and wasn't close enough to touch, I was at least in the same building at the same time. Actually, I was near her and did take a picture from across the aisle, but she's tiny as a pin head on my camera phone. She was on site to promote her new book.

So, when I was looking up her book, I saw that to my surprise, Henri also had a book and his was already available! I immediately added it to my wish list, the public one as my birthday was coming up and I hoped beyond hope that someone would get it for me. And in fact, they did. My Sister-in- Law, Shannon, got it for me. Best gift this year, well, that and money to put towards my iPad, but I digress.

I read Henri's book in one sitting. It's hard not to. It's a short read, but even if it was longer, I would not have been able to put it down. I was captivated. I was alone in my room with the air conditioning on and I was guffawing uncontrollably. I'm telling you, Grumpy Cat may have more of the eye of the public, but I don't think she can stand up to Henri's intelligence and biting wit.

Favorite quote: My thumbs are not opposable, yet I oppose everything.

If you like the brooding, angst-ridden thinkers and are looking for a laugh, do yourself a favor and pick this up. Or watch a video.

Travails of Henri can be found at http://www.henrilechatnoir.com/