Firmin may have just nosed (hehe, get it? it's about a rat...) it's way into contention for one of my top 5 books. it's seriously good. delicious (haha, you really have to read this book)! even when i was almost in tears, i was loving every second. i can't believe this is a debut novel. i think i love you, Sam Savage. it probably helps that i've had rats as pets, since i know how affectionate they can be, but i think anyone who has ever felt like an outsider (and even some who haven't) should be able to sink their teeth into this book (ok, i can't stop myself).
years ago, my brother wanted a rat, so my mom rescued (bought for $2) one from the feeder tank at the reptile store. we named her Daisy. we had only had her 1 week when she got really sick. my mom took a half-dead rat to the vet to see what he thought. he ended up putting her on an iv drip that cost $50.
my mom and i were laying in the floor, with Daisy in a shoe box with the iv in her tiny little front leg and she could barely move. she just sat there staring at me for the longest time. and then, very very slowly, she climbed out of the box, up onto my shoulder, and nestled in behind my ear under my hair. my mom and i both just started bawling. it was one of the sweetest, saddest moments of my pet owning life.
we had Daisy for 2 1/2 years, which is quite a long life for a rat, until she got cancer. she was a cherished member of our family by then, and my dad wasn't even mad when we spent another $50 to have her put to sleep. he even buried her next to his cherished dog Jake.
Firmin, for me, was a total love story for Daisy. having had her in my life made it all the more beautiful, especially the last few chapters. and i'm not ashamed to say that i was crying through parts of it. i hope you love the book, even if you don't like rats. ( )

This runt of a rat learns to read by eating them and he also understand them! The story is about his life, initially in a bookshop, and the few humans he has contact with and the changing environment in the run down area in which he lives.
Although this is a strange plot line the author makes it plausible, or at least plausible engough to make it a good read. ( )

Firmin is a book-lover, book-eater rat who lives in a bookshop in Boston and later moves in with an eccentric writer. He loves cinema (classic films as well as some blue movies that are played in the same theater) enjoys jazz and cannot stand the boring life that the other rats live. Firmin is unable to communicate his rich inner life to others, so the book is a long monologue, but he is such a funny, complex character that no other voice is needed. In his narrative he makes allusions to many of the books he reads and, in an indirect way, to many philosophical issues, but he does it with his tongue in cheek style, so the book is never boring or pretentious. This is a very entertaining book, which will make you smile. ( )

Fascinating tale of a bookstore-based Boston rodent ( )

An airport puchase this one. I always buy a book when I travel whether I need one or not. And I always try and go for something a bit different so this fitted all the criteria.

Firmin is a rat the runt of the litter who was born in a book store in Boston. Being the runt he did not manage to get as much food from his mom and finds food in eating the books in the book store. Apart from the nourishment to keep him alive he grows a certain intelligence based on what he eats. So he sees himself as a kindred spirit with Norman the owner and imagines himself helping in the bookstore.

In the end though the area of Boston where he lives is bulldozed for regeneration. And he sees how the community changes with this impending event coming close. Also he sees that his kindred spirit is not the man he thinks he is and becomes friends with someone at the beginning he did not consider "equal"to him.

A good book for a first novel with the only wierdness being that the main character is a rat. If you changed this to being a human though all of this would seem normal - but then me personally I wonder whether I would have picked up the book. I am so glad I got hooked though by that one thing cause the rest of the book was a great read. ( )