Night of the Rat
Published February 12th 2019, Kindle Edition 78 pages
There are just some men you can’t send from the house at midnight with a live rat in a trap and expect them not to somehow get the police involved. Granted, it sounds like an exaggeration, but Silas was more panicked about leaving the house than even the rat. Neither wanted to go. One had a family, the other had social anxiety.
Before sunrise, one was going to be freed in a field, the other from custody.
One would see worlds he could never dream, the other would have all his worst fears confirmed.
Night of the Rat tells the dark and comedic lengths one couple will go to rid their neighborhood of unwanted guests.
User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
This is a short, silly novella with darkly comedic overtones about the lengths a couple will go to get rid of unwanted guests, like rats for instance. The couple lives in a home that is overrun by rats, but they wish to be humane about the way they eliminate the rats. However, the lengths that they go in order to be humane borders on the ridiculous, and somehow lost in the insanity is the obsession that T and Silas have with getting rid of a music festival that has set up practically in their backyard. Silliness ensues. To like this, you MUST enjoy dark humor. There is some horror and grotesqueries because rats are involved. This was particularly horrifying for someone who used to see them in the New York City transit stations as a youth. Disgusting.
Rating: really liked it
Classic short story about relationships and the incompetence of effort.
Silas and T have cats that will catch anything. T loves her cats but she and Silas are committed vegetarians and seek to prolong all life and certainly do not wish to see any animal suffer at their expense.
What the cats bring in they strive to release. Unfortunately, the rats the cats brought in escaped and now have the run of the house.
T and Silas are poor rat trappers and their first efforts result in a traumatic death to two rats. They then strike on a plan to catch a live rat and release him in the neighbouring countryside at least 4 miles from their home.
Catching and trapping a live rat was the least of their problems as Silas leaves after midnight to free the rat but with a very bad feeling that something is bound to happen and go wrong.
Hilarious, full of comedic moments. Silas and T’s behaviours show they care for one another but some of their decisions bring their relationship into a crisis that goodwill and shared values might not be enough.
A new author to me. A short story like this is a perfect introduction into her work. This story will bring me back to this talented author and get me looking out her other work.
Rating: really liked it
Unbelievable
This story is weird. Think Salvador Dali. Think 'waiting for Godot'. I finished reading it yesterday and I still can't stop laughing. It's a hoot. Read it. It will do your head in. Tee hee.
Rating: really liked it
T doesnt like cops. Silas doesnt like leaving the house. Neither like the rats their cats have brought into the house.
This is an amusing short story that I really enjoyed reading. I highly recommend it if you need a good giggle. I feel like the main summary doesnt do this story justice as there is so much more to than just rats and social anxiety. I'm looking forward to reading other books by this author.
Rating: really liked it
Too Funny- Thompson Is A Genius (Literally)I love Tanya Thompson. She is hilarious, bold, self-sufficient, ridiculous, and the wild hijinks she gets up to whilst performing the most mundane of tasks is breathtaking. I would want to be her, but the world can only handle one of her without (just barely) imploding.
Therefore I live my very boring life, and content myself with existing for brief times vicariously through Tanya's wild dance through the world. She is a force of nature. I am thankful for her generosity and willingness to put her life into books I can gobble up shamelessly.
As Always I Wish Happy Reads to All from the Unapologetic Book Junkie!
Rating: really liked it
Doing a good deed. Saving a life (even if it is a rodent). What could go wrong? Read this story for insight to what CAN go wrong. I totally enjoyed the story and I would recommend it to anyone who has a good sense of humor.
Rating: really liked it
Creepy story I'm just happy that I finally have a friend her name is Brenda she's my only friend!😊
Rating: really liked it
Quick enjoyable readSolar and T had me chuckling with their attempts at a rat free existence, and I'm right there with them with country music.
Rating: really liked it
This was a fun quick read.
Rating: really liked it
‘People are the worst’
Author Tanya Thompson is one fascinating persona. Her initial novel - ASSUMNG NAMES - was her autobiography of a con artist, and since that time she has enjoyed success in writing further strange and interesting books: SWEET FREAKS, RED RUSSIA, and especially in this novel, NIGHT OF THE RAT, a book that shares her keen sense of humor along with the bizarre story line she creates.
This is Tanya’s newest novel (or novella!) and she not only continues her solid reputation as a unique author, she polishes it even further There are few descriptors that do Tanya’s writing style and content justice. Whether creating a memoir or shooting out fantasy and parodies of social behavior, her words spew forth on the page like free association that knows no bounds. She is at once creative in her approach to this ‘situation’ and rambunctious in the manner in which she shares her ideas.
A short passage may explain her style – ‘There are just some men you can’t send from the house at midnight with a live rat in a trap and expect them not to somehow get the police involved. Granted, it sounds like an exaggeration, but Silas was more panicked about leaving the house than even the rat. Neither wanted to go. One had a family, the other had social anxiety. Before sunrise, one was going to be freed in a field, the other from custody. One would see worlds he could never dream, the other would have all his worst fears confirmed. The rat would see worlds he could never ream and Silas would have all his worst fears confirmed. The outside was scary. The outside was dangerous. People could not be trusted. They Talked. They judged. They condemned. People were the worst. The rat thought cats were the worst, but rat was wrong. The cats weren’t killing his family. The cats were simply in a relocation program that would bring live entertainment out of the rain into the house…’
How Tanya turns this potentially gruesome story (a story from her life!) into a mountain of superb humor and guffaws remains a conundrum, but one she hopefully will continue to create. Tanya’s forte – spread the pleasures of an exhaustive vocabulary, incorporating the supernatural and other fantastical elements, and out comes one hilariously wild ride of a naughty tale. High five, kick in, and have fun.
Rating: really liked it
Have also tried to rid my house of mice, and have gone through several of the same dilemmas. Glue, poison, snap trap, none were "humane" and although I wasn't AS anguished as she was, I had found each bad experience also upsetting. Reading Tawnya's trials with dealing with a common rodent problem brought back some of those memories which she described so well, yet she made it so much more entertaining and almost funny at times. I also loved following her relationship, and loved the fact that they "fit" each other. Kudos and another great read.... waiting for the next book!
Rating: really liked it
Rats Having experienced this same dilemma I was fascinated by the tale. The real culprits are the cats yet they never get the blame. Rats. Ughh I totally enjoyed the story I would recommend it to anyone who has a good sense of humor.
Rating: really liked it
A quirky, quick readSometimes our best intentions have unintended consequences. This novella is witty and written with enough detail that picturing T and Silas in their crusade to humanely dispatch their vermin is easy. Thank you for the breezy, funny story.
Rating: really liked it
Once again, warped, disturbing, hilarious, and incredibly clever.
Rating: really liked it
A few weeks ago I read 'Assuming Names' by Tanya Thompson - her unbelievable, hilarious, and insane autobiography. Since then I have become obsessed with her and her completely unique and entertaining way of telling a story. So, I've made it my mission to read everything she has written.
First on my list was the novella 'Night of the Rat' and it was the best read for a freezing cold Sunday afternoon, curled up with a hot chocolate. It was funny, whimsical, and featured a plot that I don't think anyone but Thompson could come up with - after all, she has her own experience of the unbelievable.
T and Silas have a serious rat problem and their humane rat relocation progamme has no been going well. Inhumane rat traps are out of the questions or the vegetarians, especially after one failed in a gruesome and harrowing manner. This is what sends Silas out onto the streets in the middle of the night with a rat in a cage and what follows is a crazy, darkly comic story from a very unlikely pair.
Great read, so much fun. Bring on more Tanya Thompson.
