#Linney the housecat

[libertyreads]

Book Review #36 of 2024--

Woe: A Housecat's Story of Despair by Lucy Knisley. Rating: 4 stars.

Read on June 2nd.

Before I get into the bulk of my review, a quick thank you to NetGalley and the publishers over at Random House Graphic for allowing me access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Woe: A Housecat’s Story of Despair is a graphic novel that follows an orange cat named Linney who is just like your own cat. Linney has very specific needs and wants which gives her servants (“owners”) a lot of fun stories about her. Any cat owner will find similarities between their own cats and Linney in fun comic form. Woe: A Housecat’s Story of Despair comes out on July 2nd and is available for preorder now.

Linney is just hilarious. She also speaks in a very specific way that all cat owners can understand. What cat doesn’t sound like a Victorian child in desperate need of aid? I found this so relatable as someone with a 9 year old cat who is just very specific in what she likes and dislikes. I DO wish that there had been a running theme or something to tie all of these comics together throughout the graphic novel. There were some harsh breaks between different situations which I didn’t love.

Otherwise, this was so cute and so sweet (and so sad at the end) and I definitely recommend it for fans of cats, for cat servants, and people who enjoy a good graphic novel/comic.

[librarycomic]

Woe: A Housecat's Story of Despair by Lucy Knisley. RH Graphic, 2024. 9780593177631. 208pp.

Knisley and her family adopted the apricot-hued Linney when she was an adult, and it feels like she was already full of personality, which Knisley's drawings express perfectly. The words she puts in Linney's mouth include many over-articulations of sadness and despair only a cat could feel -- after pooping, chiding her owners for their bad behavior, when being placed into a cat carrier. She hides her sweetness with loud vocalizations, and it's unclear which she despises more, bad haircuts or her excited puppy friend Flora.

This is my favorite book of cat comics; it's right up there with Trondheim's Bludzee, Jeffrey Brown's Cat's Are Weird And More Observations, and the first time I read a Garfield collection when I was a kid. Well before the end of Woe, I absolutely loved Linney.

My friend and librarian Sarah, who used to post on Book Threat with me, said the book is being marketed as YA. We both agree it's really not YA though. It's for everyone -- Lucy and her husband and their young son are big presences in the book, and it would be a great read-aloud for younger kids -- and it is the perfect gift for families missing departed cats that were big presences in their lives.

[jimmyaquino]

Comic News Insider Episode 1523 - SDCC: Lucy Knisley!

Comic News Insider: Episode 1523 is now available for free download! Click on the link or follow on Spotify/subscribe on iTunes!

Jimmy sat down with Lucy Knisley for the first time in ages to discuss her new book WOE: A HOUSECAT'S STORY OF DESPAIR. It's both hilarious and heartwarming! What was so great about her cat Linney that made her want to make comics about her? Whom was the actress she heard when writing the cat's voice? What was a favorite Linney moment? Tune in to find out! Please come back to hear all of the SDCC coverage over the next month. 

Also, get a hold of us!

Thanks for listening!

[stephaniejoanneus]

Woe: A Housecat's Story of Despair by Lucy Knisley

Woe: A Housecat’s Story of Despair by Lucy Knisley. RHGraphic, 2024. 9780593177631 Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 5 Format: Hardcover graphic novel Genre: Humor What did you like about the book? Lucy Knisley imagines the complaints of her long-time drama queen cat, Linney, tracing Linney’s life with her family from adoption as a kitten until her death as an old cat. It’s…

[winningthesweepstakes]

Woe: A Housecat's Story of Despair by Lucy Knisley

Woe: A Housecat’s Story of Despair by Lucy Knisley. RHGraphic, 2024. 9780593177631 Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 5 Format: Hardcover graphic novel Genre: Humor What did you like about the book? Lucy Knisley imagines the complaints of her long-time drama queen cat, Linney, tracing Linney’s life with her family from adoption as a kitten until her death as an old cat. It’s…