Firmin - Sam Savage

Written by Sam Savage, 'Firmin - Adventures of a Metropolitan Lowlife', is the touching story of an intelligent individual who had the misfortune of being born a rat. Raised in the basement of an old bookshop, Firmin is the runt of the litter, and is shunned by his mother and bullied by his many brothers and sisters who don't understand him ( ...after all, they are rats!). With feeding difficult, due to too many siblings, Firmin seeks alternative nourishment, and starts by eating the nest his mother made from torn-up book pages. With his taste for books growing at an alarming rate, Firmin seeks out new literary treats in other parts of the shop, and whilst ...  Read the complete review

I was looking forward to reading this book, because I love rats. I kept pet rats for many years and they are intelligent creatures with great personality. I get increasingly fed up with reading books where rats are portrayed as evil carriers of disease who are dirty and dangerous. I was hoping ''Firmin'' would be something different - and it is. Firmin is a male rat and the book is his life story. He is rather a unique rat. After discovering that books taste rather nice, he begins to love them, eventually discovering they are even better to read than they are to eat! Living above a bookshop means he has plenty of chances to explore and soon, his interests ...  Read the complete review