Everyone has a rat story and if they don’t… well… they
haven’t lived. I guess that’s why my
brain triggered when I saw this title. I
have encountered rats, not lovingly and not willingly, but rather in an
accidental and ‘I’d rather not see that’ sort of way. A book such as this is of interest in that
the author has gone out of his way to track down, observe and study the rats of
New York, something most of us wouldn’t want to do. You may be surprised to read that I would
rather see the Statue of Liberty, visit a few museums and soak in the ambience of
one of the most iconic of cities in the world, than “spend(s) the year with a
notebook and night vision goggles, hunting for fabled rat kings”* etc which is
what the author of this book chose to do.
I guess if you’re going to do that sort of thing then New York is as
good a place to do it as any other, if not better.
This isn’t the first time I’ve crossed paths with rat
tourism. On one of my visits to India
many (many) years ago, I met two British men who were travelling around taking
photos of dead rats preferably squashed on a road. I thought it was bizarre then and I still
think it’s more than a little strange now. They had a whole photo album of them. I think they were trying to be eccentric or
funny… or ironic… or something. The good
thing about this New York rat book is that it goes to show that it’s not just the
streets of India that have rats (squashed and unsquashed), they are everywhere.
Realistically and despite my reservations regarding rat
tourism, I do like the idea of this book. It caught my attention and it is something
that I think would be an interesting read for anyone wanting to know more about
rats… and New York. Where do I get some
night vision goggles?
*Publishers blurb
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