Sam Savage Boeken

This is a novel told through the voice of a rat. Firmin is born in the basement of a ramshackle old bookstore but because he is the runt of the litter, he is forced to compete for food and ends up chewing on the books that surround him. Firmin soon realizes his source of nourishment has endowed him with the ability to read and this discovery fills him with an insatiable hunger for literature and a very unratlike sense of the world and his place in it. As Firmin navigates the shadowy streets of his decaying area, looking for understanding, his excitement, loneliness, fear, and self-consciousness become remarkably human and undeniably touching. But the days of the bookshop and of the close community around it are numbered. The area has been marked out for 'urban regeneration' and soon the faded glory of the bookshop, the small local theatre, the unique shops and small cafes will face the bulldozers and urban planners. Brilliantly original and richly allegorical, Firmin is brimming with charm and wistful longing for a world that understands the redemptive power of literature and treasures its seedy theaters, one-of-a-kind characters, and cluttered bookshops.

Living on a diet of fried Spam, vodka, sardines, cupcakes, and Southern Comfort, Andrew Whittaker is gradually sinking into the depths of middle age. As a negligent landlord, small-time literary journal editor, and aspiring novelist, he is—quite literally—authoring his own downfall. This novel is a compilation of everything Whittaker records over four critical months, including letters, diary entries, fragments of fiction, grocery lists, and posted signs. Starting in July during the economic hardships of the Nixon era, we see him besieged by tenants and creditors, harassed by a loathsome local arts group, and tormented by his ex-wife. Determined to redeem his failures and confront his enemies, Whittaker devises a grand plan. However, as winter approaches, his troubles multiply, and the chaos of his life threatens to engulf him. His grip on reality weakens, and his increasingly wild schemes transform his self-image from a placid sloth to a frantic creature driven mad by solitude. In this tragicomic portrayal of a literary life, the author illustrates that all the evidence lies in the writing, and that true escape from the mind’s prison demands a commanding performance.

Firmino è un topo nato in una libreria di Boston negli anni Sessanta. È il tredicesimo cucciolo della nidiata, il più fragile e malaticcio. La mamma ha solo 12 mammelle e Firmino rimane l'unico escluso dal nutrimento. Scoraggiato, si accorge che deve inventarsi qualcosa per sopravvivere e comincia ad assaggiare i libri che ha intorno. Scopre che i libri più belli sono i più buoni. E diventa un vorace lettore, cominciando a identificarsi con i grandi eroi della letteratura di ogni tempo. In un finale di struggente malinconia, Firmino assiste alla distruzione della sua libreria ad opera delle ruspe per l'attuazione del nuovo piano edilizio.