This novel leads the reader into the mind and universe of a rat and in doing so, transforms one of nature's most despised animals into a creature representative of us all.
Rat
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
The protagonist of this tense, imaginative novel is a rat who narrates his life story from birth to death. The enterprising rodent roams alleys and garbage dumps, lives in a bakery cellar, hops a train to a coastal town, boards a ship and lands in a besieged city at war, where missiles explode; later, he meets a cruel fate at the hands of humans. His is a life of constant fear, hunting and foraging, beset by dangers--cats, traps, cars, other rats and, above all, people, "our greatest enemies." In relating this saga of struggles and wanderings, Polish poet and teacher Zaniewski aims to enlist sympathy for rats and to expose human arrogance and cruelty, especially toward animals. None of the rodent or human characters have names but, for the most part, monotony is avoided as the author casts his rats as sentient, complex, emotional beings without seeming to anthropomorphize them. Zaniewski brings uncanny insight, empathy and respect for all animals--rodent and human--to this literate, strangely appealing fable. 25,000 first printing.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
A rat is born and survives his early youth, unlike some of his weaker brothers and sisters. As the rat grows, he strays from the nest and follows an older rat, learning the ways of the street. Upon his return, he impregnates his mother and another female rat, slums for food, and narrowly escapes feline and human predators. He then travels on trains and ships, explores cities, and tells rat vignettes (recalling, for instance, the time he uncovered a litter of baby mice and tore them all in half). He also has poetic thoughts: "Time passes imperceptibly, like the black streams of sewage and refuse." Zaniewski's novel braves the many possibilities of embarrassment in such a narrative exercise and largely succeeds in creating a compelling rat's-eye view of life. If you want to become an animal for a brief time, read this brief novel. Recommended for general readers.
Brian Geary, West Seneca, N.Y.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Brian Geary, West Seneca, N.Y.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Rat - a book about the real world,
By
This review is from: Rat (Paperback)
I liked this book, though it was disturbing and depressing. I don't think anyone who doesn't want to read about the brutal and hopeless part of the world should read this. It's a story about a wild rat, from a rat's point of view; his thoughts and experiences. In being bluntly real, the book reveals the truth about people - that we are animals, and we do cruel things to other animals. Rats have their own worlds within our world - their worlds are the worlds we built! Sewers, cellars, barns, boats, trains. Since they are in our worlds, you learn about us too in this book. This is a real portrait of a rat's life. It explains the life of an animal like the ones we see squashed on the road. I want to know those stories - because they aren't told by Hollywood or in the bestseller lists - but it is a very real part of the world. I think everyone should read this. I got very depressed, but it's okay - because I know that anyone would be depressed. That makes me feel a little better, somehow. Andrzej Zaniewski writes very emotionally. For example, on page 1: "Try to recall that first darkness that you have seen and remembered, summon it up in its first, earliest shape, try to re-create the course of life, the events, the wanderings, the escapes, the travels--from the first moments after leaving Mother's warm belly, from the first painful, choking breaths of air, from the experience of sudden cold, from the cutting of the umbilical cord and the gentle touch of the tongue." This is how he writes through the whole book. So you get very emotional, and find out what it must feel like to be this rat. And, because the rat really acts like a rat (I have pet rats, so I recognize it), I knew the view is very realistic. Except for the part where the rat vomits - rats don't vomit; I guess that is one bit of knowledge the author did not have. No solution to the brutalness of the world is given; and I really felt wounded after finishing this book. The comfort is that maybe there is something I could do about the way of the world. Some insightful descriptions are "balancing on my tail" and how the rats attack other rats because they smell alien. This is how rats really act. You also find out what rats eat in the wild - they are predators too, like we are. If you can stand feeling depressed and wounded by a story, then I think this one is worth reading because of the insight you gain about people and animals.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Eerie reality,
By
This review is from: Rat (Paperback)
Rarely do I find myself thinking about passages in a book months, even years, after I have read the book. When I do, however, it means something extradordinary has happened. Two years have passed and still I think about numerous passages from this book. It is almost like a dream, unsettling and on the edge of frightening. I see the story as an allegory dangerously close to humanity's darker side. This is not an easy book to read because it is so horribly truthful at times, and starkly ugly at others. It could generate much debate about "art" and "reality", but it is not for the weakly motivated soul. Be prepared for a terrible journey buffered only by brilliant prose.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brave Rat's Journey,
By A Customer
This review is from: Rat (Paperback)
I could barely believe the Kirkus reviewer read this book. It is a thrilling balance of anthropomorphism (it's first-person after all) & allegory & all framed in the realistic behavior of actual rats. The ending was so powerful my heart caught in my throat & I was upset for days.
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