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A review by morningtide
Rats: Observations on the History & Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants by Robert Sullivan
funny
informative
medium-paced
4.75
"But I know that if you look deep down into the darkness, even in a rat hole, there is some life down there, some fecund spark, like it or not."
Rats!! This book was really fun for me to read - it was a mix of observations on rats and historical information. Other reviews were correct that this isn't totally about rats, it has a lot of barely-rat related history attached, but as I came across this book while trying to find books about NYC history, I was happy to see that. The rats were a bonus. A lot of things really can be rat adjacent if you want to them to be.
My favorite thing about this book was watching the author's descent into rat obsession. I can feel the simultaneous disgust and respect for rats, and the disgust and the respect became mine too. The more you look for something, the more you see it. The more you see, the more you learn, and find what you have in common. And now I know how to look for rats, too.
"Rats are everywhere. Don't think they're not near you."
Rats!! This book was really fun for me to read - it was a mix of observations on rats and historical information. Other reviews were correct that this isn't totally about rats, it has a lot of barely-rat related history attached, but as I came across this book while trying to find books about NYC history, I was happy to see that. The rats were a bonus. A lot of things really can be rat adjacent if you want to them to be.
My favorite thing about this book was watching the author's descent into rat obsession. I can feel the simultaneous disgust and respect for rats, and the disgust and the respect became mine too. The more you look for something, the more you see it. The more you see, the more you learn, and find what you have in common. And now I know how to look for rats, too.
"Rats are everywhere. Don't think they're not near you."