2.5

3.5 for an ending that felt super rushed. Overall though I throughly enjoyed the prose and found it to be a really engaging writing style.

at first i really liked this book: an angry immigrant for once (after all the cheerful and perseverant immigrant tales) he's louse - a cockroach actually, but he seems to have a justified cynicism.
but then the symbolism became too heavy handed and i lost interest and/or concern for the guy.

Loved it! Dark though...

Nauseating and visceral tale of a disturbed immigrant struggles to survive inner demons and socioeconomic precarity, set against the background of a bleak winter Montreal. A cockroach analogy that presents the despair and nihilism that comes with extreme social isolation.

“I was stunned to realize how the change of scenery felt suddenly burdensome in the aftermath of my consumption of dead animals, alcohol, scratchy soggy lettuce, and tomatoes. And I was overwhelmed with the particular guilt of the impulsive poor who, in a moment of grandiose self-delusion, self-indulgence, and greed, want to have it all. The poor one is greedy. Greedy! Greed is the biggest stupidity. But I was filled with greed.”

Brilliantly written, but pretty bleak. This will make your inner cynic spit with manic glee. The drudge of being human and the mundane of everyday life is masterfully described. Not too big in terms of plot, which I tend to struggle with in a book, but on the whole, definitely a worth while read.

Hage's writing never fails to seduce. His protagonist is not particularly appealing in the usual way, but I began to care for him even as he stumbles through life, seemingly unable to have normal relationships with those around him. Much of the novel takes place in a Montreal winter and our immigrant cockroach avoids the sun, stumbles along the frigid streets, bumming cigarettes and food, and stealing. He is (I believe) unnamed in the novel.

So why did I care?

Because there is some damaged core to this character. A childhood of violence and hunger in his homeland. A suicide attempt for which he is receiving free psychiatric out-patient care. Cockroach expresses his love for those around him in sometimes (very) inappropriate ways, yet we understand him, and want the best for him.

This is not a pretty story. But it is reality for those who live on the margins. Hage has captured these lives in previous novels and hits it out of the park with this one.