Ratman's Notebook

"Ratman's Notebooks" is essentially a collection of diary entries written by a young man living in mid-20th century Britain, who just happens to be lonely and miserable. He works at his deceased father's firm under a cruel and petty boss, his mother is stubborn and slightly controlling, and he generally has no friends... until he discovers the wonderous loyalty and capabilities of rats. Gilbert is a remarkable writer; his accounts of the unnamed narrator, "The Ratman," are so personal and honest that they draw you in and practically force you to turn pages. Told in the first person, they really feel like legitimate diary entries, of different lengths and tones, reflecting the volatile nature of humans. Everything is written so clearly and smartly that you seriously feel as if you're in the narrator's head, and so you begin to understand his feelings and thoughts and find yourself even rationalizing and justifying his actions, though most would call him insane or even diabolical. Somehow, Gilbert always convinces you to stay on the narrator's side, all the way to the heart-stopping last word. I wish there were more novels published like this one these days, and unfortunately "Ratman's Notebooks" is out of print. However, it lived on through the "Willard" film franchise, though the name Willard is made up for the screen adaptations and there's no mention of anyone named Willard in the novel-- the films have taken their share of liberties. Treat yourself to this book, and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

After all, it is written as a diary. It takes place in England circa the timeframe it was written, and you are not sure if the character is really off his trolley, or just an ordinary Joe driven to crime using rats instead of a revolver. I was following this faceless character as he himself does not have a first or surname, and I almost felt as though I was right behind him, a confidante to what he was doing, thats how well the writer drew me in. Treat yourself to a great story and I bet you will probably keep turning pages till you finish as I did. Oh and by the way, without spoiling anything I wanted to mention that the conclusion of the story as opposed to the movie ending, sent a long freezing chill down my spine when I read the last lines of it. Delicous and creepy.

I totally agree with the other reviewers of this book, and can't really add much to what they have said. I'd like to let Mark Schuster (reviewer) know that Stephen Gilbert did write several other novels, including Monkeyface, Landslide, The Burnaby Experiments, and Bombardier (the latter being an account of the author's experiences in WW2).

'Ratman's Notebooks' is an odd tale, told in first person by the main character, who if anything could be described as more than a little deranged. Needless to say this gives the book a unique air to it in that it allows the reader to see the story through his point of veiw. Not a typical horror story, but the surreal quality of it gives the book a sort of unsettling feeling that really stays with you. There are a lot of funny parts too, but the humor probably won't appeal to evryone. Great ending in my opinion as well. 'Ratman's Notebooks' was also published under the title 'Willard'.

This is quite possibly the best novel I have ever read. It's too bad that there is no more info. on the author, Stephen Gilbert. Apparently, this was his only novel. The story concerns a young man who is oppressed in his life, and befriends a family of rats that he finds one day in his back yard. He then trains them to do his bidding, and he uses them to wreak havoc on his enemies and gain financial stature. As far fetched as it sounds, it is actually a very spellbinding read. The frienship at the heart of the story between the man and the rat helps to lessen the level of horror and disgust some people might feel about rats. I highly reccomend this fine novel to anyone. I think that everybody owes it to themselves to read this.