MADreads

A beach read of a slightly different sort

July 20th, 2006 Sarah - Alicia Ashman

Okay, when most people ask for “beach reads,” I’ll be the first to admit that they’re not normally looking for books about rats.

Well, they’re missing out.  Robert Sullivan’s fantastic micro-history Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City’s Most Unwanted Inhabitants has all the earmarks of a great summer read: a compelling story (the intertwined histories of rats and New York City), quick pacing, and engrossing (and, admittedly, sometimes just plain gross) details. 

Fans of Henry David Thoreau’s nature classic Walden might also find much to like here; Sullivan pays frequent homage to Thoreau’s quest to find solitude and nature throughout the book.  The key difference is that Sullivan is a writer for our urban age; instead of going to the woods to look for solitude, he went to an alley to look for rats (and found solitude along the way).  Consider enjoying this title while you find your own solitude on the beach!

Entry Filed under: Nonfiction