Doctor Rat

There has never been a character ( there has never been a rat) like Doctor Rat, Ph.D. Mad survivor of the most refined scientific experiments; respected and prolific author of tech-nical papers ( "Average Lethal Doses for Rats," "On Roasting a Rat," "Rats on the Wheel," etc. ) ; valued, productive member of the academic community, looking forward to the further challenges and exhilarations of endless grant-supported research . . .

But . . . Sweet Jumping Dormice! ( family Zapodidae ) His fellow animals—inside the lab, outside in the great world—are rebelling, refusing to accept their proper places—as experimental subjects, as pets, as food—in the natural order of things! And plucky, fanatical Doctor Rat, in the sacred name of Science, dedicates himself to protecting mankind from the worldwide mobilization of the ungrateful animal kingdom.

Counterpointing the comic malevolence of the quisling rat in this singular novel are the most moving and eloquent evocations of animal-consciousness, both in the unfettered wild and in wretched captivity . . . of dogs running free . . . of cattle and pigs trapped in slaughterhouses . . . of a majestic eagle, the symbol of animal aspirations . . . of whales at play and in love . . . of an aged bull elephant quietly passing his few remaining days amid the shade and the spicy waterweed of the riverbank, waiting for the plums to ripen . . . and of chimpanzees, bears, turtles, sloths, and