The Rat

First American Edition, First Printing. Fine in a fine pictorial dust jacket. First published in Germany in 1986 under the title "Die Rättin" by famed Nobel Prize for Literature winner, Günter Grass. Translated by Ralph Manheim. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾". 371 pp. A terrific copy of this classic by Grass.

An apocalyptic story that comes together in disparate threads, in the dreams of the narrator, who appears to be in a spaceship orbiting the devastated earth, a speaking female rat compels the narrator to review the destruction of humanity, and follow rats assuming the dominant position on the planet. In a world destroyed through deforestation, pollution, and nuclear warfare, the rats create a new civilization based on solidarity. "And the rats shall inherit the earth, or so Grass concludes in this wonderful work of speculative virtuosity. With no less a subject before him than the ultimate fate of humankind." (Library Journal)