The Alphabet Book Challenge "N"

                                                                   The "N" Books

Book one: The Cat Who Saved The Library by Sosuke Natusukawa

A good friend of mine got me this book for my birthday. It did not disappoint. This is a story about Nanami, a young girl with asthma who spends as much free time as possible in the library. She loves to read and knows where every book is located. She is particularly fond of the classics, and when she notices several of them disappearing, she grows suspicious. When she alerts the staff, they dismiss her. Discovering a strange man perusing the shelves, she follows him. He disappears down an aisle that doesn't exist, but leaves behind a mysterious light and a talking tabby cat named Tiger. 

Tiger, the cat, saves books. He takes Nanami with him to another realm, where they encounter the man dressed in grey as he is destroying classic books. Why is he destroying them and replacing them with garbage-spewed drivel that people read? That is the question Nanami must figure out, as well as how to get it to stop. 

What a fun, delightful read. What I really loved was the quest to save great books, like The Three Musketeers, Flowers of Evil, Jane Eyre, and Dracula, to name a few. 

The characters could have been fleshed out some more, but the story flowed well. It seemed repetitive, but come to find out, it is a sequel. I give it four stars.

Book two: The Friend by Sigrid Nunez

I will admit, I bought this book. I had to have it for my collection. I'd seen the movie starring Naomi Watts, Bill Murray, and a beautiful harlequin Great Dane. I loved it. I loved the book as well.

Iris is a teacher/writer whose life has taken a sudden turn when her friend Walter takes his own life. Part of his last wish, which he never discussed with Iris, is for her to take care of his Great Dane Apollo. At four years old, Apollo is past his prime in Great Dane years. He is also severely depressed. Iris lives in a small rent-controlled apartment in New York that does not allow pets. She doesn't know what to do or how to care for the dog. One of my favorite scenes is when she gets the dog to her apartment and tries to get him to sleep on the floor. He takes the bed. He is really big. She is very petite. She can't entice him to leave the bed, so she sleeps on the floor. 

Eventually, Iris and the dog come to terms and work through their grief, but then they have to deal with dogs not being allowed in the apartment complex. Apollo helps Iris with her grief. She helps him overcome his. 

Having had several dogs, I can attest to how they grieve and adjust. Watching my cat when I lost Misty deal with being the only pet in the house was heartbreaking. I told him he needed to greet me at the door when I came home, and he did. He ran to the door and meowed. I honestly didn't know how much he missed Misty until I came home one night and whistled, and Fish ran to the hallway searching for a dog to come running. Animals grieve. I adopted Barney a week later.

The Friend is a beautiful story about how animals and people grieve. It rips your heart out. The movie is just as good. Well worth the read and the watch. I give it five plus stars.