Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Rats (copy)

One of my favorite things to do as a reader on vacation is read a book with local flair. You may have noticed my lead to books: The Big Bam by Montville and Pigeons by Blechman. This trip I brought along, Rats: Observations on the History & Habitat of the City’s Most Unwanted Inhabitants by Robert Sullivan, as our 2007 guidebook.

Robert Sullivan, author of The Meadowlands and A Whale Hunt, is currently a contributing editor to Vogue and constant contributor to the New Yorker. In 2004, the year Rats was published, I heard Sullivan on NPR and as a guest of David Letterman.

I remember thinking he sounds sane and looks normal, but what is wrong with this man. No one, in his right mind, willingly gives up a year of their life to observe rats in their natural habitat. I am happy to say, after reading Rats, author Sullivan is like most Americans. He still gets a little freaked-out working around and in proximity to rats, even after a year of “observing.”

Let us start with the whys. Sullivan thought the rats of New York City, although a quarter to half a million strong, were mostly ignored by nature writers. If they appeared in print it was to shock newspaper buyers into full subscriptions. Yet, for all the potential diseases they carry, they have had little consequence on humans in the last eighty years.

Throughout history, where humans created community, so too did rats. As our fictitious Hansel and Gretel skipped into the woods, it wasn’t song birds but rather hungry rats that ate their bread crumbs. For America, it was the rattus norvegicus or Norway Rat, who arrived, “in the first year of the Revolution.” From which they ambled after the settlers into the country, as Sullivan quips, “a manifest infestation.”

In the summer of 2001, Sullivan set up camp outside the entrance to Eden’s Alley. In an L-shaped corridor connecting Gold Street and Fulton, the oldest section of Manhattan, he began his shift at five in the evening where he observed through a night-vision monocular until morning broke. The yearlong experiment included the tragic September 11th loss that fall, when volunteers worked to contain the rats and the pestilence they harbor from Americans.

This is a fascinating read about a disgusting animal many humans would rather ignore. Would it surprise you, John James Audubon spent his later years walking the streets of lower Manhattan, similar to our neo-naturalist Sullivan, looking for rats.

18 comments:

Diane said...

I have to say that this sounds really interesting. . . I'm torn by rats - on the one hand I think they are disgusting and I have a fancy schmancy rat trap to deal with those that intrude into my domain, but I also find them kind of cute and appealing at Petco . . .

Lisa said...

Good morning Maggie! I've just tagged you for a meme, stop by and say hi.

Lana said...

hhmmm, not a book but we went to see Ratatoiulle the other day and I didn't love it because of the rats.
I don't know if I want to read a book about rats!

Wendy said...

I've tagged you for the Blogging Tips Meme - hope you'll play!

Debi said...

My husband gave this book to his dad for Father's Day a year or two ago...always thought that was a weird choice of gift. But I think he did it so he could borrow it and read it himself. Anyway, I'm with Diane...somehow "city" rats give me the willies, yet pet rats I find incredibly adorable. Go figure. Maybe I'll have to borrow the book and it a whirl, too.

Isabel said...

I saw a big one, the size of a cat, when I picked up my Harry Potter book last Saturday.

Kelly said...

Interesting. I don't think I could go around looking for rats. I saw a dead one once and that is good enough for me. I did like Ratatoiulle though.

tinylittlelibrarian said...

Not about rats, but I like to do that, too! I took Ian Rankin and Alexander McCall Smith books to Scotland with me and I like to take Minnesota authors with me on our yearly pilgrimage to Minneapolis.

Eva said...

This sounds horrifying...I have a huge fear of rats. Have you read 1984? I completely sympathised w/ the main character's Room 101!!

I've tagged you for the blogging tips meme-feel free to play or not play. If you want to, the post is http://astripedarmchair.blogspot.com/2007/07/blogging-tips-meme.html

sage said...

this does sound like an interesting POV to explore the city! I'm also glad to see the "make-believe DamnYankee Book Challenge" get another review!

maggie moran said...

Thanks Lisa, Wendy, and Eva! I'll try to do the meme when I get home from vacation.

Hi Diane, Debi! The book was just so good...and those pet rats are called Fancy Rats!

Ew, WW100! I have noticed the rat holes all over the city now I know where to look. YUCK!

Myutopia, I wanted to write something cute using Ratatoiulle, but I couldn't spell it! Bah!

Tiny, I always feel I have a more fulfilling vacation when I do that, but boy is it tough carring all those books around.

Yeah, Sage, who knew I would read so many northern books! Thanks for the fun button.

Bookfool said...

How interesting! I'm reading a book set in China and the one thing that has leapt out at me most vividly is the fact that there were rats in the dorm where the heroine lived during her university years. And, I thought it was bad that my son's dorm had bug problems. I'm really appreciating my college dorm-life experience, at the moment. Excellent review.

Les said...

I admire those of you who can read on vacation. I always have great intentions, packing enough books to read at least one every two days. I should know better. We were on vacation for almost 2 weeks and I barely read ONE book! Just too much to look at while cruising the Canadian and San Juan Islands. I did, however, start (and almost finished) Bryson's A Walk in the Woods (one of my challenge reads). Did most of the reading on the long flights to and fro and I'm hoping to wrap it up today.

I did manage to take over a thousand pictures while traveling and have posted some of my favorites. Now, back to books!

Anonymous said...

I LOVE Robert Sullivan...have you read his tiny little book "How Not to Get Rich" yet? It's hilarious! (and there's nothing in it about rats!)

maggie moran said...

Hi Bookfool! Oh, Man! I was studying for a final exam one night and got so frustrated I slammed the book shut. Underneath it was a roach half the size of the book! I was petrified and amaze wondering what the heck do I do now! The China book sounds good and I look forward to your review.

You know Les, I think I can define all my vacations from the books I've read during them. For example, we did a tugboat cruise off British Columbia and I read Snow Falling on Cedars. I remember it being cold and snowing the day I started reading it, and we were so far from civilization that cedars and eagles were all you saw on the coastline. It was a lonely and isolated feeling much like the book.

Hi NonAnon! This is my first Rbt Sullivan and I really dig his humor. I'll look for his HN2GR book when I get back. BTW, we travel back to the city Wednesday and I've talked my hubby into taking a peek in Eden's Alley. Ew!

Les said...

Maggie - I think I would've been a nervous wreck in a tugboat in the Sound off British Columbia while reading Snow Falling on Cedars!! As it was, I was a bit nervous about our Haro Strait crossing in light fog. Thank goodness for all the electronic gizmos to tell us where the freighters and ferries were!!

Anonymous said...

Wow. I have to admit that sounds like an oddly fascinating read!

maggie moran said...

Oh, Les, thanks for sharing the pics of your trip. It looked awesome! Today's travel has its advantages, too. ;)

Heather, it was a good read, and we travelled to Eden's Alley last night for the full experience. I was so creeped out but got some pics to remember it by. EW! :P