Dewey is about the life of a library cat. But, not just any library cat, he's a world-famous library cat. Dewey was stuffed down the book return chute at the local library in Spencer, IA on a cold January night in 1988. The poor little guy was only about 8 weeks old. Vicki (the head librarian) saved him and they became fast friends.
Dewey (the book) is, however, about much more than (Dewey) the cat. Partway through the book, you may think "why am I reading a book about a cat?" Soon you realize that it is about how even the smallest thing can bring people together. How a tiny cat can help bridge the gap between a single-mother and the teenage daughter she has lost touch with. How a tiny cat brings an entire town together. A small Midwestern town that, unfortunately, seems like it could have easily gone the way of so many small towns in the Midwest. The changing values of a small Midwestern town. There are so many underlying themes in this book, it would be impossible to list them all.
Dewey became the world's most famous library cat. He's been in countless newspapers, movies, tv shows, even in a Japanese documentary! The ending of this book is no surprise. You know it is coming. But that doesn't prepare you any better for it. I had hoped to have it finished before Edward got home from work when I was reading it. Instead I was about 3 chapters away from being done. Lucky for me, he noticed me sobbing on the couch when he came into the living room and let me lay against him while finishing the book. I highly recommend that method when finishing this book.
I also highly recommend reading this book.
277 pages
I saw a story about Dewey on the show Sunday Morning. I might have to read this book someday. Seems like the Iowan thing to do. :)
ReplyDelete