英国一流浪猫让瘾君子变畅销作家

A bright afternoon in London’s Covent, there is a cat wearing a jaunty Union Jack neckerchief. Surrounded by a crowd of 30 open-mouthed spectators, Bob, a tubby ginger tom, smiles beatifically.

一个阳光明媚的下午，伦敦西区卡文特花园一角，一群人围着鲍勃，他戴着一条色彩鲜艳的围巾，站在一旁，满脸惬意。

Next to him, his owner James Bowen stands with his battered acoustic guitar, belting out a series of Oasis songs. Every now and then, he stops playing and bends down to Bob. ‘Come on, Bob, high-five!’ he says.

在他旁边的是他的主人詹姆士•鲍恩正在用他破旧的吉他自弹自唱。一曲唱毕，鲍恩朝“鲍勃”弯下腰，说道：“过来，‘鲍勃’，击掌。”

Bob twitches his whiskers, raises a paw, and taps James’s outstretched hand. The crowd coos. A smart-looking lady in a pink dress and jacket pops a £20 note in the cap at Bob’s feet.

“鲍勃”抖抖胡须，抬起一只前爪，击向鲍恩伸出的手掌。人群中发出一阵喝彩。一名女士给“鲍勃”身前的帽子内放入20英镑（约合人民币200元）。

Bob, you see, is a star. He has his own Twitter account (with 12,000 followers), his own Facebook page, even his own fan group, the Street Cats, who send him photos, scrapbooks and presents.

鲍勃如今是一个明星。“鲍勃”在“推特”上有1.2万“粉丝”，有自己的“脸谱”网页。它还有“粉丝”群——“流浪猫”，负责给它的社交网站网页上传图片、更新文字等。

Oh yes, he also has his own bestseller and is in ‘talks’ with a Hollywood agent about taking his story to the big screen. Well, it’s Bob’s owner, James, who is leading the discussions, but he’s in no doubt that he owes it all to his cat.

他还有自己的畅销书，还被好莱坞制片商看重，待改编成电影，搬上大银幕。鲍勃的所有者詹姆士促成了这场洽谈，但是毫无疑问，他把这一切都归功与他的猫。

James’s book, A Street Cat Named Bob, a feelgood story that chronicles how the 33-year-old busker and one-time homeless heroin-addict turned his life around with the help of his cat, has sold more than 250,000 copies and been translated into 18 different languages.

詹姆士的《一只名为鲍勃的流浪猫》一书讲述自己与“鲍勃”结缘、共同生活、合作街头献艺的故事，着重描述“鲍勃”如何帮助自己从一名瘾君子变成积极向上、对生活充满希望的青年。书籍上市后受到欢迎，销量已经突破25万，在英国非小说类书籍销售榜中名列第一。这本书已被译成18种语言。