[PW] Looking for a book title

[Louise Flinn]

I'm looking for the title of a book I read a few years ago, and am absolutely stumped.  The book is about a man whose job it is to destroy books, as ordered by the totalitarian government in charge.  They're shredded and compressed (as I recall) and not burned. He saves and collects as many as he can, and his compressing room and adjoining apartment are overflowing. (The only other thing I remember is the protagonist talking at length about the crushing of the rats in the compressor)
 
The book is not Fahrenheit 451 nor the Bradbury short story it was based on. I think it was in translation, and it definitely had an Eastern Bloc feel to it. It was a short book, around 200 pages.
 
I'm not a subscriber, so responses to my email are appreciated.