Rat Man of Paris (Masterplots II: British and Commonwealth Fiction Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Paul West
- First Published: 1986
- Type of Work: Psychological romance
- Time of Work: 1983, immediately preceding and following the arrival of Klaus Barbie in France
- Setting: Paris and Nice
- Principal Characters: Etienne Poulsifer, Sharli Bandol, Charles de Gaulle Poulsifer, Boche
- Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction
- Subjects: France or French people, Love or romance, Crime or criminals, 1940’s, Friendship, Paris, 1980’s, Death or dying, Nazism or Nazis, Begging or beggars
- Locales: Paris, France, Nice, France
The Novel
While there are indeed various events and activities in the novel, most of the action takes place in the protagonist’s wandering mind. Etienne Poulsifer is known to most as the “Rat Man of Paris” for his habit of accosting strangers on the street and revealing a live rat (later rubber, wooden, or dead ones and finally a fox fur) hidden under his coat. Almost invariably, the startled or appalled passersby proffer money to dismiss Rat Man, who regards his actions as rituals for “tweaking the race. Helping it evolve.”
On one of his excursions, he meets...
[The entire page is 1804 words long]
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