About this title: It's the mid 1950s, and Kockroach lives in a fleabag hotel in New York, perfectly content with his life as an arthropod--until the night he awakens to discover that somehow he's become a human. Will he become an American success story or be squashed from above?
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Description: Very Good. 0061143332 *HCDJ * SHIPPING WITHIN 24 HOURS! ** QUESTIONS ANSWERED QUICKLY ** THANKS ** HARDCOVER BOOK WITH DUST JACKET. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: William Morrow
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780061143335ISBN:0061143332
Description: A wonderful copy with some minor edgewear to the cover. Dust Jacket has some edgewear present. A former library book with the usual identifiers in a protective glossy dust jacket covering. -, Hard Cover, Very Good / Very Good. read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Very Good. Former Library book. Great condition for a used book! Minimal wear. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: William Morrow
Date Published: 2007-01-01
ISBN-13:9780061143335ISBN:0061143332
Description: Like New. May be shiny, in some instances dust jackets are not included, no missing pages, no damage to binding, may have a remainder mark. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Date Published: 2008-03-01
ISBN-13:9780061143342ISBN:0061143340
Description: Like New. May be shiny, in some instances dust jackets are not included, no missing pages, no damage to binding, may have a remainder mark. read more
Edition: First edition. Advanced Reading Copy.
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: William Morrow & Company
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780061143335ISBN:0061143332
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Uncorrected proof in fine condition. Glued binding. Audience: General/trade. read more
Description: Good. 2008-Paperback----Used-Good-Hall Street Books proudly ships from Brooklyn, NY. All orders are processed and shipped within 24 hours, M-F. 100% money back No-Worry guarantee with expedited delivery and delivery confirmation available. read more
"Favorite thing I've read in a while!! Short description is Damon Runyon meets The Metamorphosis but so much more nuanced than that. Great dialogue and a literary feel that deepens the whole experience."
"Like some of Palahniuk's work, I find myself almost unable to describe what happens in this book. When I say, "It's a story about a cockroach who molts, and finds that he's now a full-size human being," I am inadequately describing what happens in the story, but that's as close as I can get.
Kockroach is a metaphor, but it's also a story of discovery. You're meant to think about what it means to be human, and the choices you've made that form your personality, as well as your persona, and how those two things differ. You're also meant to think about the serendipity that affects us, both for the better and for the worse, and how our reaction to events is what makes us who we are.
All of that makes Kockroach sound like a huge philosophical tome, but it's not. It's a medium-sized romp through petty crime and accidental friendship, so don't feel obligated to have a revelation while you're having a good time.
Extra points for the people who catch the cultural reference..."
"A noir-esque novel set in 1950s Times Square when a cockroach becomes a man. He survives in the human gang underworld with his instincts and the help of Mickey, known as Mite. He learns about human behavior, how to plot and plan, and even begins to get some human feelings. It's an interesting take on humanity (with a wry commentary on politicians as the last chapter) but I truly wish that the author had done something better with Celia - her actions at the end were just not believable to me (especially how she would walk away from her child who might also be Jerry's and regarding Gloria and the wedding)."
"This is a very funny bankshot, with left english off of Kafka's Metamorphosis. Instead of a man waking up and finding out that he's turned into a roach, a roach checks in to a roach motel and finds, to his disgust, that he's become a man. It's a perfect set-up for taking a shot at someone: what kind of a guy does a roach turn into? Your cousin Louie? Michael Jackson? Dick Cheyney?
It should be no surprise that he goes first in to organized crime, then legitimate business, then politics. Readers will no doubt assign various contemporary political figures to the roles laid out in the book- that's part of the fun, but by no means the whole story.
It would have been tempting for the author-who may or may not be named `Tyler Knox'-to play this story strictly for laughs. But Knox is better than that. What he does is create a combination of the pure naturalism of John McFee, the noirish vision of Raymond Chandler and the wiseacre perspective of Damon Runyon.
Does that sound like a set-up for a parody? It's not. Instead, it's a book that is so seductive that you'll find yourself reading it long after your eyes have started to droop. It's a book whose narrator-the Kockroach's mite- will stay with you for days after the read is done.
For fans of complex fiction, this is a gem. The narrator is a subordinate character who's more interesting that the `roach of the title. But his fascination stems from his relationship to the roach-turned-man. His negotiations of the terms of that relationship and his unreliable narration are what gives this book its exceptional power.
Unlike most fiction that relies on a device like Kockroach's, this novel stayed with me for a long time. Brilliant might be too big a word for this, but not by much.
Lynn Hoffman, author of bang BANG, ISBN 9781601640005"
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