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cheyannelepka's review against another edition
4.0
This is the type of book that left me sitting there going, what the hell did I just read? And don't get me wrong, that's my favourite kind of book. Even days after finishing, I’m thinking about the book and seriously considering rereading it. It’s an interesting combination of dystopian and horror with a very kafkaesque coating. It works brilliantly, because of how well the tone of the book works with the content.
The unnamed protagonist is in an impossible situation, and it just keeps getting worse. The tension brought on by his dire situation made it hard to put the book down. Even when the darker aspects of the man’s life are revealed, I found myself completely invested in his story, though I’ll admit I was sort of cheering when shit just kept raining on him (not literally, though… in this book… you never know.) The one thing that made this book so hard to put down was the grotesque interest I had in the world, and the lack of certainty I had about anything I had read. I didn’t trust anything and I’m still sitting here wondering what the fuck actually happened.
I’d recommend this book to anyone who has read and enjoys Kafka, or anyone who is looking for something uncomfortably bizarre and wants to read about killing rats and drowning in garbage. Overall, it’s definitely a book that will leave you thinking and mildly uncomfortable. Bravo.
The unnamed protagonist is in an impossible situation, and it just keeps getting worse. The tension brought on by his dire situation made it hard to put the book down. Even when the darker aspects of the man’s life are revealed, I found myself completely invested in his story, though I’ll admit I was sort of cheering when shit just kept raining on him (not literally, though… in this book… you never know.) The one thing that made this book so hard to put down was the grotesque interest I had in the world, and the lack of certainty I had about anything I had read. I didn’t trust anything and I’m still sitting here wondering what the fuck actually happened.
I’d recommend this book to anyone who has read and enjoys Kafka, or anyone who is looking for something uncomfortably bizarre and wants to read about killing rats and drowning in garbage. Overall, it’s definitely a book that will leave you thinking and mildly uncomfortable. Bravo.
denimtuxedo's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.5
charleyroxy's review
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I want to preface by saying there are a lot of content warnings and I will list them in that section in full.
A nameless protagonist, referred to only as "the man", works for a pest extermination company. He is transferred to Country C which is in the middle of an epidemic and he is immediately quarantined. Country C is massively polluted with foul smelling air, trash everywhere and overrun with rodents. While in quarantine he reminisces about his failed marriage, his dog and the time he killed a rat. He gets some horrifying news which leads him to flee his apartment and experience homelessness as his life spirals out of control.
This book had one of the most despicable protagonists I have read in a while. He is a rapist, an abuser, and has zero qualms about doing whatever necessary for his self preservation. He made me think of Patrick Bateman from American Psycho. To be fair everyone in this book was pretty awful. The descriptions are quite gruesome, and the way homelessness and those experiencing it werw depicted didn't sit right with me. This book is a look at how truly rock bottom a society gets when everyone is out for themselves and not the greater good. It was even more sad and creepy how much of this book, written in 2010, echoed our current situation in many ways.
A nameless protagonist, referred to only as "the man", works for a pest extermination company. He is transferred to Country C which is in the middle of an epidemic and he is immediately quarantined. Country C is massively polluted with foul smelling air, trash everywhere and overrun with rodents. While in quarantine he reminisces about his failed marriage, his dog and the time he killed a rat. He gets some horrifying news which leads him to flee his apartment and experience homelessness as his life spirals out of control.
This book had one of the most despicable protagonists I have read in a while. He is a rapist, an abuser, and has zero qualms about doing whatever necessary for his self preservation. He made me think of Patrick Bateman from American Psycho. To be fair everyone in this book was pretty awful. The descriptions are quite gruesome, and the way homelessness and those experiencing it werw depicted didn't sit right with me. This book is a look at how truly rock bottom a society gets when everyone is out for themselves and not the greater good. It was even more sad and creepy how much of this book, written in 2010, echoed our current situation in many ways.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, and Vomit
Minor: Abortion
hollie347's review against another edition
3.0
This book is very bleak. If you’re sensitive to pandemic stories and societal chaos right now, this may not be for you.
sarah984's review
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Parts of this book were really interesting: being in a foreign country where you barely speak the language when something momentous starts happening, trying to navigate the bureaucracy at the company, the full circle story about the rat. But overall not very much happened and every time something came up about a woman it was awful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Death, Excrement, Infidelity, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Vomit, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Abortion
ursulamonarch's review against another edition
I’m pretty sure I didn’t get this book. I started reading it based on its pandemic setting and description of being kafkaesque. I guess these are both accurate, but the main thread I see in reviews is that it’s disgusting. I thought it was pretty gross in multiple ways (somehow one can only be told about smells so many times, but the monkey tail was terribly indelible), but the potential moral decrepitude of the main character was truly unpleasant and made me consider giving up on the book. I probably would have had it been longer.
Anyway, I can’t even decide if I liked this or not. The writing and translation seemed strong, and the atmosphere really got into my head. But I’m not sure what to make of the rats, the different languages/countries, or anything.
Anyway, I can’t even decide if I liked this or not. The writing and translation seemed strong, and the atmosphere really got into my head. But I’m not sure what to make of the rats, the different languages/countries, or anything.
toddgrotenhuis's review against another edition
2.0
Depressing, and not in a hauntingly-beautiful or interesting way.
boaroboros's review
4.0
A bit Kafkaesque, but with none of his humor. The book balances the surreal and the mundane with lots of garbage, rats, and a few deaths.
patrick_'s review
3.0
A modern spin on paranoia and nihilism that would make Kafka proud. Dark, depressing. 2.5 rounded up because the prose is good.
kleonard's review
1.0
I can't tell if this was supposed to be dismal or absurdist or both. A nameless male protagonist whose work centers around killing pests is sent to work in a similarly unnamed city far from home, where society has crumbled and the city is filled with trash and pestilence. The protagonist should get no sympathy, however, as he's an admitted rapist and abuser, and as his life and the meaning in it spiral away, well, I cared less and less. I think on the surface this is a metaphor for inhumanity, and on a deeper level suggests that everyone is capable of violence. Content warning for rape and other violence.