I really enjoyed Dewey, although I honestly admit to crying my eyes out at the end. Don’t worry, I’m not spoiling anything — it’s made clear from the beginning that this is written after Dewey’s time at the library.

The book is written by the librarian that found a little orange kitten in the book-return slot on one of the coldest nights in January 1988. The librarian’s name is Vicki Myron, and the cat soon came to be known as Dewey Readmore Books… or just Dewey for short. While Dewey is full of personality, and heart-warming stories, he didn’t just warm the hearts of this small town in Iowa, he touched the world. When people started hearing about this charismatic cat in Spenser Public Library, word just seemed to spread!

It really is a good book, although in some ways it is a linear story of Dewey’s life at the Spenser Public Library, the author has interjected a lot of personal stuff in as it comes up. I’m not quite sure how I feel about this because although the author is portraying the special relationship she and Dewey shared, and can only speak from her own perspective, the personal information seems on a “need to know basis”. This makes me feel like it’s second rate compared to Dewey’s story, which isn’t necessarily true.

I cried because it was just so… heart warming and honest. Vicki is resigned to the fact that most owners outlive their pets, and she knows that one day Dewey’s health is going to fail, but it really is a touching moment … heck, there are a lot of touching moments.

It certainly didn’t help that Dewey shares an uncanny resemblance to my Henry… so much that I think that Henry is Dewey reincarnated! I know this sounds stupid, but hear me out!

  1. They are identical.
  2. Dewey passed away in November 2005, Henry was born in February 2006.
  3. In the book, they describe the “Dewey Carry”; if you want to carry Dewey for any length of time, you have to hold him over your left shoulder and only your left. This is unbelievable because Henry loves hanging out with me on my left shoulder. I’ll carry him around as I tidy, make tea, whatever… I always thought it was because when I rescued him from the first tree, I put him over my left shoulder. Who knows?
  4. The way Dewey is described to show his affection just reminds me sooo much of Henry. Although on the other hand… I don’t know if I believe in reincarnation!
    [/end tangent]

Overall I really enjoyed this book. I would recommend it to a wide audience of readers, although I wouldn’t give it to kids or fragile individuals — it certainly pulls on those emotional strings! [images from the Publisher’s website.]

Full disclosure: I received a copy of the book from the publisher for review purposes. This situation did not affect my review in any way, shape or form.