Ever wondered what being a cockroach must really be like? Are you obsessed with Kafka? Do you dream of creepy crawlies? Well, if you do then this book might just be the thing you’ve been looking for. The Roaches Have No King, is to put is mildly, very weird. The story, as told by our protagonist a cockroach named Numbers, follows the odyssey of the colony as they attempt to reclaim their apartment from the owner’s evil new girlfriend… They’re up to some real mischief this time, as a war on the humans has been declared.
I don’t mean to make this book sound trivial, because it isn’t. The book in fact spends a lot of time dealing with philosophy, the roach mentality, and the problems of man from a somewhat outside perspective. This book is intelligent, and it is funny, it has a good plotline, and the pacing is very concise. BUT, the big but, the book is also fantastically disgusting, and really unsettling at points. Why you might ask? Well, in my opinion that’s because it actually is a accurate approximation of a cockroaches life. And when you come down to it, roaches are really pretty dirty buggers sometimes.
I liked this book, and would recommend it to all but the squeamish or faint of heart. This book will disgust you, no doubt about it. But it’s also very insightful, has an interesting, if not bizarre premise, and is a quick read. Check this one out if you come across it. It’s worth it.
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