Rat

Not since Patrick Suskind's best-seller Perfume a half dozen years ago has a work of fiction from abroad created such prepublication excitement. Published simultaneously in nine countries around the world, Andrzej Zaniewski's novel Rat takes as its protagonist one of the most feared and maligned creatures on the planet. Rattus norvegicus and Rattus rattus - the "domestic" rat and the gray rat, the two basic species of the great rat familyhave accompanied humankind since the beginning of its existence. Throughout history people have created conditions favorable for rats and enabled the species…