From the Stacks: Charming story examines the value of books

Bookish high school student Rintaro Natsuki has just attended the funeral of his grandfather with whom he lived. Rintaro and his grandfather lived in an apartment over their second-hand bookstore where they worked. Rintaro is supposed to pack his belongings to move in with an aunt he only just met, but the bookstore has been his safe space a place to withdraw from the world. As he is considering packing, a tabby cat -- a talking tabby cat, that is -- appears in the shop requesting -- no, calmly demanding -- Rintaro's help in saving books.

The cat takes Rintaro on several different quests where various individuals are abusing or destroying books. Rintaro must dissemble the half-truths the offenders are using to justify their abuse of books. He then needs to convince them to stop their abuse. These offenses include: ultra-abridged books (far shorter than any Reader's Digest condensed book), fetishizing volume over comprehension and enjoyment, and the like. In the process, Rintaro frees not only the books and the offenders, but he takes steps toward freeing himself from the recluse he has become.

I liked examining the value of books; it is easy to equate popular with valuable. When selecting materials for the library, we do take popularity of a book into consideration, but what about quality of the material? Which side of the balancing act between quality and popularity do we lean toward?

In this book, "The Cat who Saved Books" by Sosuke Natsukawa, I liked the fact the translator chose to retain a few Japanese words, giving you a taste of Japanese culture. The word hikikomori is one example. Hikikomori is the Japanese term for a person or lifestyle exhibiting extreme social withdrawal, particularly young adults living with their parents without working or going to school. I appreciated that, although originally written in Japanese the titles referenced are from the Western canon. Although our main character argues for struggling through long tomes, I also liked that the book itself is not a struggle; it is straightforward and relatively short (198 pages). So if you are a bibliophile -- a lover of books -- treat yourself to this charming story.

Kira Michaelieu is the adult services manager at Missouri River Regional Library. She selects items in a variety of areas including audiobooks.