Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by readergonerogue
Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron
2.0
I started this book because I love cats and I love books; it seemed like a no-brainer. I knew it wouldn’t be an amazing piece of literature, but I’m ok with a feel-good book set in small-town America from time to time. But ugh. Dewey started out promising and then about halfway through it dawned on me just how annoying I find this book.
Most animal stories are less about the animal specifically and more about the people around them: their owners, their towns. Dewey attempts to do this as well, telling the story from Vicki’s, the librarian’s, perspective and including anecdotes about her life. But the book became an odd mish-mash of tragic anecdotes about Vicki’s life, history lessons of Spencer, and Dewey stories. We don’t get to know anyone besides the librarian in depth (and I never connected with her either)—not any of her fellow librarians, none of the patrons, and none of the other members of the town. On top of that, the town of Spencer is presented as a perfect mid-west utopia. I love small towns, but no place is perfect.
Dewey is also way WAY too saccharine for me. Though we all tend to anthropomorphize animals to some extent, Vicki Myron takes it to the extreme. Yes, I can believe Dewey was good at sensing when people were sad or stressed (hey, I had a cat too) and I realize he was a friendly cat, but I do not think he was as all-knowing as Vicki portrays him. She repeats the same Dewey stories many times in only slightly altered states: he is constantly praised for his wonderfulness, patrons are constantly ogling him, and he is constantly attributed with being the beating heart of the town.
Though Dewey was a lovely cat who touched many people’s lives, I would not recommend this book. There are many superior and more impactful animal books out there.
Most animal stories are less about the animal specifically and more about the people around them: their owners, their towns. Dewey attempts to do this as well, telling the story from Vicki’s, the librarian’s, perspective and including anecdotes about her life. But the book became an odd mish-mash of tragic anecdotes about Vicki’s life, history lessons of Spencer, and Dewey stories. We don’t get to know anyone besides the librarian in depth (and I never connected with her either)—not any of her fellow librarians, none of the patrons, and none of the other members of the town. On top of that, the town of Spencer is presented as a perfect mid-west utopia. I love small towns, but no place is perfect.
Dewey is also way WAY too saccharine for me. Though we all tend to anthropomorphize animals to some extent, Vicki Myron takes it to the extreme. Yes, I can believe Dewey was good at sensing when people were sad or stressed (hey, I had a cat too) and I realize he was a friendly cat, but I do not think he was as all-knowing as Vicki portrays him. She repeats the same Dewey stories many times in only slightly altered states: he is constantly praised for his wonderfulness, patrons are constantly ogling him, and he is constantly attributed with being the beating heart of the town.
Though Dewey was a lovely cat who touched many people’s lives, I would not recommend this book. There are many superior and more impactful animal books out there.