http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadareads/2014/03/samantha-bee-immigrants-should-be-allowed-to-express-themselves.html

I found this a hard book to like. It absolutely has merit, and I was fascinated by the stories, when they were told... but there is so much "non-story" that felt like a slog.

An engrossing book that graphically describes life that I'd never experienced, or choose too. I learned a LOT….most of the lewd stuff I never needed to learn, but the rest certainly gave a feeling of how many people survive after they've come from horrific conditions.

If you want to know what it's like to be a Lebanese immigrant in Montreal during the coldest time of the year, to know the feeling of escaping war in your home country only to move to a community of people who just don't care, to know what it's like to attempt suicide and fail - miserably - than this is the book for you. If there is a subgenre of Dostoevskian fiction, this would fit right in.

Depressing, depressing, depressing and yet undoubtedly a reality for someone.

I really did not like the half of this book that I managed to read.

While it's commendable that the author so convincingly created a cockroach like character... he succeeded too much for me to enjoy reading about this slimeball's activities. The plot also twisted and turned without seeming to get anywhere. Not my favorite.

This was a CBC Canada Reads book. Read for a book club - comments to follow.
We picked this from CBC's Canada Reads List for 2014. It was also a finalist for several prestigious awards when released in 2008, so seemed a good choice. We were disappointed.
Cockroach is a story about a young Iranian immigrant, and his struggles - initially in war torn Iran and now in Montreal. After a stranger saves him from suicide, we follow his life as voyeurs, via his sessions with a well meaning but naive therapist. He is a voyeur too, obsessively following people as he scuttles around the city, in search of his identity. He's a petty thief and a sneak, and not really that likeable. The imagery is very graphic, too much so in places, as it pushes the metaphor of a cockroach theme and its unsavoury environment. This story has a narrow focus on a psychologically damaged person, and on a portrait of madness - interesting in places, but unsettling. We didn't feel this was a good representation of life in Canada, and wondered if good literature now has to be about bad things to be considered good drama. We gave this a 2.

A literary masterpiece which I wrote my final term paper for with a very difficult professor and scored a solid "A" on, back in 2014. This is a must read! I used the word "f$#k" three times in said paper. Dare to dare! He loved it! The boldness!

Beatifully written. Distinct honesty. The beauty of dark comedy.