Those who follow my blog regularly are aware that I’m am
avid reader, logging a minimum of 1200 read pages per month. So what kinds of
things do I read? Just about everything. Course, my favorite items to read are
books—lots and lots of books. There’s just something intoxicating about an
“old-fashioned” book that when you crack the cover a pleasing scent of older
pages printed with actual ink is released. And let’s not forget the crackling
sound the pages make when turned.
So what am I currently reading? It’s an older title—much
older—by James Cavell, called King Rat.
Some of Cavell’s books can be a chore to get into, their beginnings—the first
hundred pages or so—tedious. But that’s not the case with this book. Right from
the start, the reader is drawn into the story.
The storyline is brutal, compelling and shows a
compassionate side of those bent on one thing—surviving under the harshest circumstances.
It tells of bonds individuals make in order to ensure survival. Of how some of
those friendships become much more than just a means of survival. They blossom
into deeper relationships that have real meaning.
The tale tells of deals made. Shrewd business dealings, oft
thought to be cold, yet to some are seen merely as outsmarting those who would
do the same if given the opportunity. It highlights cultural differences such
as how a compliment offered by one might be perceived as the greatest insult to
another. The story progresses, revealing how unlikely individuals, tossed together
by relentless circumstances, manage to hold their tempers long enough to weed
through those cultural differences in order to make their dreary existences
more tolerable.
King Rat is a
story of cunning, perseverance and the strongest desire to survive—no matter
what the obstacles. It’s a good read. A fast one that helps us remember what
the important things in life are. And frankly, I can’t think of a better way to
be reminded of those things than by curling up with a good old-fashioned book.
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