By Peter Gethers
"The only thing wrong with our pets," a veterinarian tells author Peter Gethers in this, the third installment of his bestselling Norton-the-cat saga, "is that they don't live as long as we do." For Gethers the death of 16-year-old Norton, his "extraordinary" Scottish Fold feline, was particularly trying. After all, this was a cat who accompanied Gethers everywhere—including the ritzy Four Seasons hotel in Beverly Hills. Pet owners will empathize with the pain of watching an animal's slow decline, though few will be able to relate to the privileged life that Gethers, an editor at Random House, blithely details. His writing can also be self-congratulatory. "Don't you think it's impressive," he asks, "that even after all these years I don't overdo the cute stuff?" Well, no. But what does impress is Gethers's ability to capture the joy and sadness of loving and losing a pet. (Broadway, $22.95)
Bottom Line: Tuesdays with Norton
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