The Rat Killer – Alexander Terekhov

Svetloyar is an untractive town with no history, build under Stalin’s regime.

More, it appears of being infested with rats. When the town sees in the near future the chance of being included in the “Golden Ring” famous tourist route, it will stop at nothing to grab it. The circumstances induced are at times ridiculous and sad, but also highly humorous.

Svetloyar will undergo absurd preparations for the event, going as far as inventing an archeological site, displacing the population and using actors instead, as well as hiring, for an enormous sum of money, two rat killers from Moscow to clear a specific building where rats are falling from the ceiling.

The novel can be difficult to follow when it changes time, space an rhythm all of a sudden. On the other hand, some pieces of dialogue are savory enough to recharge your attention.

The political aspect, the very obvious parallel between the human society and the rat’s society are at the center of The Rat Killer, but what really draws attention is the comic of situation generated by a micro-society put under stress.

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