CATMOPOLITAN
Ilene Hochberg
MetroBooks
Fiction, Humor
****
DESCRIPTION: Human women who want to be on the cutting-edge of fashion and living have COSMOPOLITAN to guide them. Now, the social-minded lady cat has CATMO.
Advice columns, horoscopes, and fashion specials mix with scandalous centerfolds and an exposé on the hidden shame of catnip addiction, with dozens of appealing ads for
everything a cat needs to stay trendy and beautiful.
(This is a parody of fashion magazines, with cat products and information featured in magazine format.)
REVIEW: Hochberg is a former fashion and visual merchandising director, and her experience in the field gives CATMO hilarious accuracy. There's a little actual information on cats here, and many of the items and books featured actually exist, but mostly it's a send-up of the fashion industry with a feline flavor. I loved the ads for such products as Purrfect purfume (by Esteé Longhair) and Maidenfur lingere. A very enjoyable parody for anyone who, like me, finds actual fashion magazines like COSMO ridiculously superficial.
You might also enjoy:
Why Cats Paint (Heather Busch and Burton Silver, Fiction - A deadpan parody of the art world explains feline aesthetic movements)
The Devious Book for Cats (Fluffy & Bonkers, Fiction - A parody guidebook for the domestic cat)
Cats Cats Cats: A Collection of Great Cat Cartoons (S. Gross, editor, Fiction - Various cartoons about cats)
Secrets of the Cat (Barbara Holland, Nonfiction - A cat lover shares anecdotes, thoughts, and information on cats)
The Cat Who Couldn't See in the Dark (Howard Padwee, D.V.M. and Valerie Moolman, Nonfiction - A veternarian reflects on feline patients and their owners)
The Cat Manual (Michael Ray Taylor, Fiction - A rare translation of the secret manual all cats receive on entering adulthood)
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