Our topic this weekend is “Death Rat,” the 2003 novel by Michael J. Nelson. It’s the story of one Pontius Feeb, a down-on-his-luck Minnesotan author of obscure history books who, desperate for cash, writes a ripping man-against-the-wilderness yarn that could sell millions, only to be told he cannot sell it because he doesn’t look the part of the dashing adventure author. His harebrained solution to this problem causes unforeseen reprecussions for a hapless actor/fast-food restaurant employee, the 38 inhabitants of a tiny Minnesota hamlet, a mellow-voiced author of books about smalltown Minnesota life, an excitable funk music superstar, a quartet of snooty Danes and the state’s gruff, two-fisted governor.
Fans of Nelson’s caustic sense of humor (and I’m assuming 95 percent of those reading this are) will, I think, find his way of telling a tale charming and almost immediately hilarious. We’re used to seeing Mike in two- or three-minute snippets, so it’s a revelation to see him set out a longform story and see it through with his inimitable style.
I present this sample, which, when I was reading it this time, had me literally shaking with laughter.
He was sneaking his way over to Ponty’s cabin when voice from above made his spine stiffen and his arms shoot out at his sides.
“Jack, Jack, Jack, Jack,” said the voice.
Jack scanned the sky around him and saw King Leo perched on the low branch of a medium-size white pine, his back resting against a branch above it. Jack made a conscious effort to quiet his aroused nervous system before speaking.
“King Leo,” Jack observed.
“It’s nice up here,” he said.
“I’ll bet,” said Jack. “Um … whatcha doin’ up there?”
“I couldn’t do my meringue bath this morning so I came up here for a little peace and reflection. Communing with whatever I could find.”
Jack’s concentration was so absorbed with slowing his breathing that he let King Leo’s sentence slip by him without even attempting to comprehend it.
“Uh-huh.”
“We belong here, Jack. Are you feeling it?”
“Sort of.”
“Just a moment ago, as I sat here in this tree listening to the birds, watching the hamsters scamper across the damp forest floor, I felt a profound sense of peace. And apprehension, too.”
Jack put his hands in his pockets and looked down while trying to find the handle on what King Leo had just said. Though he recognized immediately some deep problems with it — among them, how one could simultaneously feel a sense of profound peace and apprehension (and, because they were standing among sparse trees, he might also have quibbled about the term “damp forest floor”) — he asked for clarification on one particular point.
“Hamsters?”
“Yes. They have been very active this morning. Putting on quite a show for me,” King Leo said with a bucolic smile.
“There are hamsters running around in the woods?”
“Oh yes. If you wait with me, you’ll probably see one come out of that little stand of brush over there,” said King Leo, pointing.
Though Jack felt he’d be wise to let it pass, he pressed on out morbid curiosity.
“What do they look like?”
“You’ve never seen a hamster? Oooohhh, Jack, Jack, Jack, this place is going to be good for you,” King Leo said with tender condescension. “Hamsters look like smaller squirrels, only with playful little stripes on their backs and little white spots,” he said as though he were passing on a treasured family secret.
Jack blinked at him. “King Leo? Those are squirrels. Ground squirrels. I don’t think we have hamsters here in Minnesota.”
“Jack, you’ve been in the city way, way, way too long.” He dismounted the tree nimbly. “Walk with me, Jack. Let us talk of many things.”
The story behind the novel, which Mike has told a few times, is unfortunate: The book lost its biggest supporter at the publishing company when he left the firm, and nobody else seemed much interested in championing it, so it was released with little fanfare or support and faded away quietly in bookstores. But I do really like it (and not just because it’s Mike who wrote it) and I think it deserves a larger audience.
So let’s talk about it. What do you think of it? What are your favorite moments? The best characters?
Also, I wanted to discuss the big-budget movie I think could be made from the book. I’d love to see the Coen Brothers get hold of this. I was thinking about it recently and I wondered if maybe the best way to do a movie would be to do the whole thing in flashback. That way you could work in some of Mike’s hilarious narration.
What Hollywood actors would you like to see in the main roles? Here are the actors I personally picture when I am reading the book:
Ponty: The man who I think was born to play the part, Michael Jeter sadly died in 2003. Somebody on Twitter suggested Paul Giamatti and that might work. Any other suggestions?
Bromstad: Well, of course I always picture Garrison Keillor. Think he’d do it? Otherwise we need somebody who can do a scary Keillor impression. Thoughts?
Herzog: Similarly, I always picture Jesse Ventura. Wouldn’t it be awesome if he’d do it?
Jack: Patrick Warbuton is who I picture, but he is getting a little long in the tooth. Do we know a young Patrick Warburton?
Sandi Knutson: Kathy Bates is still my first choice.
Ralph: Paul Dooley would be great.
King Leo: Chris Tucker is who I imagine. Other suggestions?
Stig Stou-Thorup: Ed Begley Jr. would be great. Also Martin Short.
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Life Imitates Art. . .and I Freaked!
I bought DEATH RAT in 2006, and it took me five years to read it all the way through..
In January of 2007, the same week I started reading this book,
I managed to get fired. My first attempt ended on page #33 with the line:
“Things went badly, I was forced to give him a wedgie.”
You can imagine how difficult it is to concentrate on a novel where
the main character gets fired in the first six pages when you have to look for a new job.
It was very weird identifying with Pontius Feeb, And I did get those phone-calls from my brothers wondering what I was doing with my life. (Just like Feeb)
Before I continue, I have to say that MIND OVER MATTERS
is one of my favorite books and reminds me of Jean Shepherd’s
IN GOD WE TRUST(ALL OTHERS PAY CASH)
(That’s the one with the Red Rider BB Gun story. and I think it’s a must read.)
I’ve read both books over and over and love them.
2007 was my “Year-of-Hell” Between a part-time gig selling bicycles at “A Major Toy Store Chain” and numerous odd jobs through a temp agency I was making some money but falling far behind in the rent. The lowest point was a week before Christmas. Pay day is on Friday. It’s Tuesday and I had about $9.35 in my checking account and a five dollar bill in my pocket. In the kitchen I had a 12-pack box of Cinnamon-Brown Sugar Pop-Tarts and one of those giant tins of pop corn in the three flavors (Butter, Cheese and Carmel). AND THAT WAS IT! I was in that phase of desperation where I’m selling off my records, CDs and books when I came across DEATH RAT. I fanned through the pages and this sentence popped out from the middle of the page:
“And he saw himself, in the packaged-food isle of Betsy’s Quick Mart trying to decide if he should buy the Our Family brand of macaroni and cheese and walk home, or leave it on the shelf and take the bus.”
Was I in a Twilight Zone episode? I’m reading a book that’s mirroring my life! If it was the late fifties T Z, the book would have belonged to St Peter and he would allow me to re-wite the book if I made one small change in my life. I put the book into the SELL box. . . and then took it out. I wanted to keep all three of Mike Nelson’s books together. So it wound up in a Rubber-made chest with the complete works of Larry Niven, the novel 2001,. and six books that were either about or sequels to the novel and movie 2001.
Now it’s September of 2008 and I’m in my new (and yet very old) apartment. I took another crack at DEATH RAT, but my head just wasn’t into it. I had no interest in the sad life of Pontius Feeb,
Gus Bromstad, on the other hand was a great character. I would skim ahead just to see what new calamity his Ego would drive him into.
And put the book away again just before the great speech of Jack Ryback.
So, here it is June 2011: Once more into the breach!
And when Jack takes the stage at the town-hall meeting to convince the good people of Holey to help keep DEATH RAT’s little secret, I was hooked.
Nelson channels himself into Jack’s ability to win over the audience.
It comes across with the same charm he presented on MST3K.
From there, I zoomed through the book in three days. Gus Bromstad’s efforts to micro manage anything that happens within fifty feet of his existence, also seemed to destroy anything within fifty feet of his existence. I also enjoyed how after they decide to cover-up the truth, Jack’s optimism grows in direct proportion to Ponty’s paranoia. And as far as King Leo is concerned; I think all of us in our own little way have had to hug a sweaty man…and touch his red leather pants…SHUDDER! When I stopped taking this story personally, I enjoyed it.
My brothers said “No thanks” when I recommended DEATH RAT. And why should I? This is the literary equivalent of THE RING. Read this book and you’ll meet the same fate as one of the characters!
I’m going back to reading only Science Fiction. The worst that can happen to me is doing odd jobs for one of Larry Niven’s Puppeteers.
Or maybe I’ll become a Starbaby.
It has been a while since I read it, but I remember thinking that it was absolutely hilarious. Mike’s books as a whole were pretty entertaining, but this one was my favorite. Bromstad freaking out about the bobbleheads is one of the more memorable comic scenes I can remember in a novel.
Its a real shame that Mike had such a miserable time with the publisher, because I wish he wrote more of these.
I agree with M. Clouseau (#2). The chapter in which Gus Bromstad is into introduced is hilariously perfect. Of course, if you’re familiar with a certain Minnesota-based writer and public radio show host, it is impossible to read this chapter without thinking of him. Deliciously savage satire!
I bought and instantly loved Movie Megacheese and Mind Over Matters. Death Rat took more of an investment…it’s a further departure for Mike and is less immediately MST3K-esque in its humor.
That said, I’m so glad I stuck with it. At the risk of sounding pompous, Mike Nelson is a comedic genius. That’s so clearly on display through his work with MST, but, Death Rat shows he really could do anything in the comedy world and still be one of the best. Gus, Jack and Pontius are original, hilarious characters that he brings to life while still injecting satire into every page.
Sampo, we mind-melded on a favorite passage….the hamster discussion is probably my favorite moment too.
As far as casting, I always imagined Trace as Ponty…granted, that’s a little insular. Expanding beyond the world of MST….Thomas Haden Church as Jack always made sense to me. Gus: Bill Murray.
One of the best novels that I have ever read, and certainly the funniest.
I seem to remember coming across a page on the internet (Barnes and Noble?) where Mike himself suggests actors for a potential movie version. I remember Bill Murray as someone, but that is it. Anybody else remmeber this and if it can be found?
Personally, I saw Woody Allen as Ponty though he may be too old now, perhaps David L. Lander, Dan Ayckroyd as Bromstad, Patrick Warburton as the Governor, Kathy Bates as Sandi, Dule Hill as King Leo. Jack is a bit more difficult. There are a plethora of ruggedly handsome young men who could fill the bill. Kip Pardue?
Hopefully I’m not alone in this but I just didn’t like the book. I got about halfway through and gave up.
Admittedly, I did not get a chance to re-read the book prior to this discussion, but my memories (from 2005 or so) are varied. I enjoyed the book (particularly the Danish mobsters), but I read it in the midst of a slew of books by Carl Hiaasen, Dave Barry and Christopher Moore, and frankly, Death Rat is only so-so in comparison.
Anybody know where I can find Aquavit in California?
I too have imagined casting for a movie version of this. Sadly, at least one of my top choices is no longer with us, but I’ll include him anyway.
Ponty: the late Paul Newman
Jack: Patrick Warburton is the obvious choice
King Leo: I always thought of Eddie Griffin
Gus Bromstad: I could never think of anyone
Sandy: I always pictured Donna Murphy
Ralph the Bartender: Mike himself, since he’s said in interviews that this is the character he thinks he’d be cast as
Bart Herzog: I think our own Bill Corbett would be hilarious in the role.
Also there are characters that I thought Kevin Murphy and Mary Jo Pehl would be really good choices for, but I can’t think of their names.
A good friend of mine and I had ideas on a cast for what could be a great movie based on Death Rat, when it first came out. Don’t recall much of it anymore but two that stand out are, the obvios one, Jesse Ventura as Herzog. Jack we thought ,at the time we called him, “that guy from 2 Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place.” Now we know him as Nathan Fillion.
I confess that I didn’t find the book to be hilarious; however, I did find it to be amusing on pretty much every line. This is something I know Nelson was working hard to achieve because he talked about how he wanted every sentence to be an amusing little joke on its own, the way you can take almost any Wodehouse line and find something amusing in it.
The best example — and I forget who pointed it out, but it wasn’t me — is just the name of Pontius Feeb. It’s not a joke name exactly, although the “Feeb” sounds almost like it’s playing for the back rows, and it’s not an unjustifiable name since both names say something about the character (and the explanation for Pontius, in case you miss it, is even given in the text), but the combination of syllables is silly without being pie-in-the-face, pants-dropping silly.
It’s a difficult balance to hit, essentially the prose version of character humor, the kind on (say) The Andy Griffith Show or on Vic And Sade where nothing specifically is funny except everything. I don’t think Nelson is quite funny enough, but he’s very close and quite entertaining about it.
Plot-wise while I couldn’t get past the impression the Garrison Kellior character was just being a jerk for not much reason, he did have a point in his investigations of the Death Rat myth: it really isn’t plausible to pretend the town archivist would show no curiosity about the discovery of an amazing incident in the town’s past. Lesson for those trying to pretend your town is more interesting than it actually was: do the homework to make your scam prima facie credible.
Also I’ve heard stuff about the Webster-Ashburton Treaty that’s so amazing I’ve found the treaty to be a stroke of blessed genius ever since, but as I’ve only found the one reference for it I’m not quite confident that it’s true. But if it is, boy they should be teaching that and maybe someone besides Mainers and New Brunswickers who still feel wronged would care about it.
My favorite part is Ponty getting a job at the U of M branch of Medieval Burger. The paragraph where he describes his dislike of the standard uniform, especially the hat which he calls “wholly incompatible with one’s inalienable right to dignity” always makes me laugh. It makes me glad I’ve never worked in a fast food joint.
For Bart Herzog, I picture J.K. Simmons in the role. He was great as J. Jonah Jameson in the Spiderman movies and he could easily pull off the arrogant, swaggering Herzog.
Reading the book again a couple months ago, I saw several MST alumni in key roles-
Ponty: Bill Corbett (He’s a tad too young for the part but could pull it off beautifully)
Jack: Mike Nelson (I know he’s too old for the part as written, but I do think he’s ruggedly handsome. He’s said he wants to play Ralph, though.)
Sandy: Mary Jo Pehl
Gus Bromstad: Kevin Murphy (I always picture him as when he played Roger Whitaker)
Stig Stou-Thorup: Trace Bealieu
I like DEATH RAT, I think it’s a good-natured read and I think the pleasant parts are in the little details, like Ponty’s college-age room-mates and Sandy’s porcelain cat statues. My two complaints are 1) the ending is a little weak: all the main characters converge, and fall in a hole. 2) Once you figure out the ‘hook’ of the ‘parody’ characters (King Leo, Bromstad, Herzog) there’s not much to them. All in all, I’d welcome another novel from mike (or any of the brains!)
I’ve wanted to re-read this for a while now and wish I could have for this but I just moved so digging out a book to read isn’t at the top of my priorities.
I remember really enjoying it. It wasn’t ground breaking or world shattering, but it was good and very entertaining. Certainly impressive for a first time outing into a full on fictional story. And even then I couldn’t help but think that it would make a really funny and entertaining movie.
Got nothing against Mike as a writer, but I could just never finish this book.
Ummmmm…….I KNOW Sampo gave us PLENTY of warning about this, but I haven’t quite gotten around to it yet………..becaussssssse……..uh-h-h-h-h-h-h…………………THE DOG ATE MY COPY !!! YEAH, THAT’S IT !!!
I know, I know………………I’m a crummy critter…
Sorry. :wilt:
Casting a movie, Hmmmmmmmm?
Feeb. . . . .Burgess Meredeth
Jack. . . . .Robert Redford
Gus . . . . .John Wayne
Sandi. .. . .Megan Fox, (But she starts tweeting complaints and is replaced by Shirley Temple.)
King Leo. . .Justin Bieber
The Danes. . .The Swedish Bikini Team “Every one is a damn girl”
Ralph. . . . .Jean Shepherd
Bart Herzog. . .That guy in TOP GUN who kept yelling “Dammit Maverick!!!”
I’m sorry but this was very emotional for me to deal with.
I HAVE TO VENT!
P, S. : Wouldn’t be cool in the final fight scene at the Old Mine if Ponty sprouts huge iron laser-guided claws and Gus turns into the Hulk?
. . .it can happen.
Before I share my long-form thoughts, I just wanted to get this out there:
How long did it take you to notice that Mike’s right there on the cover of Death Rat? (It took me a few years.)
I’ll admit that my first time through Death Rat (right after it came out) I was a little under-whelmed. I was expecting something in the vein of Terry Pratchett or Douglas Adams based on Mike’s way with words and the Dave Barry-esque style of his previous writing, but Death rat turned out to more resemble Christopher Moore’s slow burn comedy of situations and characters. (If you liked Death Rat, check out Moore’s Thank You For Smoking and Little Green Men.)
However, I’ve since re-read Death Rat two or three times and have enjoyed it more each time through. I tend to re-read book I enjoy every few years, once the details have begun to fade, and Death Rat is all in the details. I started it again once Sampo gave us our homework assignment and flew through it over the course of a couple weeks’ bathroom breaks. (Don’t look at me like that.) Did it leave me howling, or rolling on the floor? No, that would have been awfully awkward considering the size of my apartment’s bathroom. But I had a dumb smile the whole time. Books like Death Rat are comfort food for the mind – not challenging or enlightening, more like slipping your frazzled brain into your comfy brain slippers at the end of a busy day, not unlike watching a favorite MST3K episode you’ve practically memorized – a few chuckles from turns of phrase you’ve previously overlooked and the company of some lovably unbalanced imaginary friends.
Okay, enough strained metaphors. I don’t know about you, but when I read a novel I tend to cast the main characters in my mind. Not always based on their described physical appearance, or even personality traits. Mostly I try to give them their own distinct voice in my head. It sounds strange, but it works for me, and it’s mostly subconscious – it’s taken me longer to describe it than it takes to do. In fact, I often wouldn’t be able to tell you whose real-life voice I’ve assigned to a character. Certain Death Rat characters are obvious parodies of Minnesota celebrities, as has been mentioned, making this rather unnecessary for me, but I have trouble with Gus Bromstad. Clearly he has more than a little Garrison Keillor in him, but his persona is so clearly defined and over the top that I’ve come to the conclusion that Bromstad’s less a parody and more a pastiche of Keillor and, I’m not sure, perhaps someone Mike’s dealt with in real life? The unpredictable shifts in temperament, the manchildish combination of intellect and irrational tantrums – Bromstad feels more like a real person than the more obvious parodies of “real people.” To contrast, King Leo and Bart Herzog are based on the public personas of real people, whereas I could imagine Bromstad as an ornery old uncle or neighbor in Mike’s past. (With a dollop of homespun Lake Wobegone Tales.) In my head he sounds like like the retired astronaut guy on Northern Exposure. Remember that show? Holey feels a lot like that to me.
A Sampo said, Death Rat would make a swell movie, and the Coen Bros are an inspired idea, if they could be persuaded to return to screwball comedy. I’d never really considered who’d make a good director of a Death Rat movie, probably because I don’t give much thought to who directed a comedy. But the Coen Bros, and Fargo in particular, did influence my thoughts toward casting. There is only one man who can perfectly bring Ponty to life, uncomfortable twitches and all, while simultaneously being an acceptable lead in a major motion picture: http://tinyurl.com/5sbysy7 (I wish I could just embed a photo here.)
I wonder if a Death Rat movie, to feel more contemporary, would replace the Governor Herzog character with a former comedy writer-turned-senator character? If so, I know the perfect actor to play him…
Oh, you mean Tom Davis!
I’m proabably one of the few people who didn’t purchase the book (I was unemployed for a large part of 2003). Yes, I know Sampo mentioned it weeks before, but I just can’t justify spending $5 like that. I have bills to pay since Unemployment is my only source of income right now.
I would have never read DEATH RAT without the homework assignment from Sampo, so for that, I will say, “Thank you.” I enjoyed the book, it was light fun. I powered through the last 60 pages or so last night, at about 3-4 am, after 9 hours worth of work (baking bread). I have a copy of Mike’s MEGA MOVIECHEESE (somewhere) and as I recall that was good and all, but DEATH RAT seems to take Mike’s wit to another level and put it into an entertaining narrative form, as opposed to the observational comments of his prior books(s). (I haven’t read MIND OVER MATTERS. I probably will now)
I really enjoyed the coda at the end, in the epilogue, with Feeb and his brother talking on the phone, Ponty telling him he should come visit him up in Holey. Just something about that that made me. . .smile, I guess.
So. . . .a lot of Danes in Minnesota, eh?
The ridiculous name “Pontius Feeb” reminds me of the absurd names that Woody Allen would use in some of his earlier (funnier) pictures, such as Fielding Mellish from BANANAS.
Some MST3K connections: I noticed at least one slam on Gallagher. Also, the whole wedgie thing and the discussion about “double jock lock.” Didn’t the Bots deal with the phenomenon at some point, in a Host Segment or something?? I know I’m forgetting one or two more; anybody else got any MST connections??
Uh, in casting suggestions, a couple people suggested black actors for King Leo’s role. . . . did I miss something? Is King Leo black? Did I miss that in the book, or is that, like, inspired casting? Maybe it’s just me, but it is set in Minnesota, so I pictured everyone really, REALLY white in this book. . . .
I had trouble picturing this as a movie while reading it. I’m not sure how Mike’s prose would translate to live action, as some of the situations just seem a bit too outlandishly whimsical. As said, most of the best bits are in the narration, so the movie would have to be a flashback story that would allow for some voice-over narration.
The people I pictured while reading DEATH RAT don’t exist, or if they do, they don’t act in major motion pictures. Even though I didn’t picture them while reading, these fine actors would do a good job:
Pontius: Richard Dreyfuss or Burt Young (the low budget version would star Ernest Borgnine)
Jack: Patrick Warburton just makes sense
Bromsted: Alec Baldwin or Bill Murray
King Leo: James Franco
Herzog: R. Lee Ermey
Stig: Ed Begley, Jr.
Ralph: Sam Elliot
Sandi: Frances McDormand
.
I hopped the Death Rat train, just one track over from the peace train, back in 2004 as part of an investigation of sorts, meaning my interest in what the old MST gang was up to led me to Mike Nelson’s literary triumvirate of Movie Megacheese (not related to Death Rat, just has cheese in the title), Mind Over Matters (practically no Death Rat related matters) and of course Death Rat, all of which bear Mike Nelson’s name at the beginning. I guess this was to prevent any confusion with the many other books titled Death Rat, etc.
Anyway, a little background on where I’m coming from as a reviewer of Death Rat: I am a writer, fiction predominantly, and still labor in relative anonymity, so I don’t want anyone to dismiss my critique as sour grapes or the ruminations of some stuffed shirt literati with a closet full of tweed coats patched falsely at the elbows. I own just one tweed coat and it belonged to a relative who is dead. I suspect he never wore it, since my first encounter with the coat was after he died.
But I digress. What qualifies me most to comment intelligently and fairly is that I have read Death Rat three times, cover to cover, as in all of it. Each repeat reading has been something of a feverish odyssey where I keep hoping that it’s actually better than I remembered. But alas, my memory has remained sharp of the book’s shortcomings.
It starts out WAAAAYYY to slowly. The restaurateur/firing scene has a sprinkle of humorous happenings when it’s not kneeing me in the groin with effusive details of foodstuffs. I get it. Details are there to breathe life into prose. But everything in moderation.
The premise of Death Rat is simple enough: old guy writes action novel, finds young guy to pose as the author so it sells, it does but young guy is such a tool he sells it as nonfiction instead of fiction. It takes over 80 pages to get to this plot point. I question the need for this much setup. My current project, 19 months in the making and still going, is about (details redacted on account of I’m paranoid about letting story ideas out of the bag). Read it and find out.
That’s the basic, bear bones of the premise (trust me, it’s pretty straightforward). Why take 80 pages getting to that point when 2 will do.
Some suggested the movie version of Death Rat as a digression. WONDERFUL idea! That’s how Death Rat should have been written. Begin with Ponty’s predicament and digress to the origins of his mess. As is, it’s just too linear a read.
Ray Bradbury once wrote, “…digression is the soul of wit.” Words of wisdom, Ray. Words of wisdom.
But despite its limitations, in the end Death Rat proves enjoyable.
Holey’s greedy suspicious populous is easy to both hate yet sympathize with. Gus Bromstad and his ineffectual gunsels prove funnier than I would have imagined, given the handicap of presenting square heads as a foil for anything resembling humor (Mike would back me up on this, I’m sure). And King Leo, the overblown rock star with delusions of grandeur, is a treasure. There are some great exchanges that redeem the occasional slogging-through-a-bog pacing, such as on page 44, where Ponty digresses (!) to a story he wrote in high school (dialogue queues added for clarity):
Indeed, a very funny, underplayed moment, evocative of comedies of the 1960s. That may be why the book had trouble finding an audience: it’s spiritually a period piece. A clean, wholesome narrative with few expletives, a zany “I Love Lucy” series of misunderstandings and an explosive finale at a rock show/rat revival meeting. Okay, that last part doesn’t belong to the 1960s, at least not the early 1960s. But it’s doubtful anyone under the age of 40, as of today, is liable to relate to or find the will to immerse themselves in Death Rat’s clever literary style. This is less a criticism than a sad statement on today’s LOL-Twitter youth.
Final grade: 6.5 out of 10 (5 is average)
Ahhh, political humor. Anyhoo…
I made a bunch of mental notes during our reading assignment, and they’re coming back to me in drips and drabs. I like to imagine how I would adapt books I like into movies – not simply fancasting, but what would work in a film, and what wouldn’t, what would have to be excised or changed, etc. Naturally, I would keep as much of Mike’s dialogue as possible, but what of his wonderful descriptions of awkward situations that we can identify with, what I would argue is the true strength of his writing? My Death Rat would have to be narrated, I think by Ponty. (In my opinion, movies with omniscient narrators rarely work.) For example, the opening of the book, where Ponty gets fired over lunch. It would be a shame to exclude the observation that the couldn’t finish the chicken and fingerling potatoes he’d so looked forward to all morning because they now represented his impending unemployment. (I’m paraphrasing from memory – the actual wording was much funnier.)
But what about scenes where Ponty isn’t present? Not an issue, so long as it’s something he would have heard about later. For instance, Jack would certainly have recounted his harrowing late-night visit to King Leo’s mansion. A sample from one of my favorite passages, again paraphrased from memory: King Leo corners Jack on the Funkabus and makes Jack read his poetry. As Jack gingerly opens the journal, a look of terror on his face, Ponty narrates, “It’s a sad but unavoidable fact of life that at some point you will be forced to read someone’s bad poetry. This was simply Jack’s turn.” Then Jack reads – aloud – “My Flute” as King Leo beams proudly. I think that would work marvelously for a movie.
Unfortunately, I don’t see a way to work “Two naked men burst into the hotel room: Gus Bromstad and another man Ponty didn’t recognize. Bromstad drunkenly brandished a handgun, the other naked man simply stood their, dangling.” :laugh:
@ Watch-out-for-Snakes:
Regarding King Leo’s “ethnicity,” I refer you to the Wikipedia page for one Prince Rogers Nelson. If you’ve ever seen The Fifth Element, you’ll understand why Chris Tucker is a no-brainer.
I don’t know if there are plans to discuss the other Michael J. Nelson books as well, but as others have said, Mind Over Matters is on a short list of books that will actually make me LOL every time I pick it up. The part where he describes in detail and with footnotes the ingredients of a certain kind of personal care/beauty product induced tears the first few times through.
I’ve read Death Rat several times. As Sharktopus (#18) says, it is comfort food for the mind, and I am also always blown away by the details in the writing. I think I discover something new every time I read it, just like the best MST3K episodes and Monty Python sketches support repeated viewing. The lengths MJN went to, from the ongoing series of Ponty’s book titles (historical references and jokes based upon them) to how there are descriptions and jokes throughout about what people are wearing, what they’re eating and so on, are what make this hold up to repeated reading. From the beginning, when he paints the scene in Ponty’s car, right up through the mine chase towards the end, you feel like MJN’s Minnesota is this whole other universe, and it is a strange and wonderful place that you want to learn more about.
Sampo liked the King-Leo-in-a-tree scene, but I think my favorite moment is the first meeting of Jack with King Leo. The immediate and unexpected strangeness of King Leo, the awkwardness and weirdness and obsession with food/drink, is a pleasure to read and even more so to imagine.
The only thing I would say about casting the movie is that Mike should play Jack and Ed Begley Jr. has to play the head Danish mobster.
It’s so sad to me that people associated with MST3K have had such a difficult time with corporate overlords (though they were largely left alone by Comedy Central). The problems MJN had with his book unfortunately parallel the problems they all had when making the movie – lack of corporate interest and publicity. Thank Mothra for the internet, where Rifftrax and Cinematic Titanic can do whatever they want.
King Leo = Prince. A Minnesota native.
Death Rat is pretty clearly a “first novel” (i.e. a book where a writer is still figuring out how the novel form works.) It’s a bit over-the-top and cluttered in some places and the pieces don’t always mesh together well, but it’s still a pretty entertaining read with some real laughs in it. It’s a pity Mike hasn’t written another book since.
Oh, and Larry David for Ponty, Nathan Fillion for Jack, Bill Murray for Gus, Laura Linney for Sandi, and whoever suggested James Franco for King Leo is a genius. Just thinking about him in that role cracks me up.
Sharktopus: I’m sure Minnesota native Prince was part of the inspiration of the King Leo character, but I only realize this in retrospect. If I had been picturing Prince while reading DEATH RAT I would probably be down with Chris Tucker bringing the funk (even though I can’t stand him in FIFTH ELEMENT) but I was picturing a skinny, 6-packed white man with a goofy smile and crazy eyes. That’s why I cast James Franco in my imaginary DEATH RAT movie (coming soon from Mandalay Pictures) and as you can see, #28 KJB agrees.
Ponty: The man who I think was born to play the part, Michael Jeter sadly died in 2003. Somebody on Twitter suggested Paul Giamatti and that might work.
After playing Cleveland Heep in “Lady in the Water”, I don’t think he’s ready to play Pontius Feeb–
One can play only so many gratuitous and contrivedly “quirky”-named protagonists…
Sharktopus @ #18 – Christopher Buckley wrote Thank You for Smoking and Little Green Men. Christopher Moore wrote such classics as Bloodsucking Feinds (A Love Story), Island of the Sequined Love Nun, and Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal.
Oops. Did I say Moore? You’re right, of course – I meant Buckley. (Son of William F.) I like Christopher Moore, too. They’re rather different, though.
James Franco as King Leo would be amazing.
To the guy who didn’t like Death Rat: Yes, you are alone. Miserable and alone.
And it is worth repeating that King Leo is based on Prince, so it makes sense that someone who looks and can sound like him would be a better choice: I’d go with Phil LaMarr.
@33 – That’s not fair! How can you say that, he’s not alone! Meanie…
EricJ: Shut up, you.
Just finished the book an hour ago, glad that this discussion came up because I hadn’t read the book before and probably wouldn’t have otherwise, so when Sampo mentioned it a few weeks ago I put in my request to have it transferred to my local library branch (not shocking that it was only in two branches in the entire county). I did enjoy the book, I didn’t really find it side splitting hilarious though. I actually found the King Leo character to be not funny at all and actually quite obnoxious (I mean I know he was supposed to be obnoxious, but I just kind of wanted every part he was in to end quickly). I was a little disappointed with the ending, so much build up and then it seemed like it just abruptly ended. The epilogue added a nice conclusion for our “hero” though.
Interesting that Sampo brought up casting a film version of the book because while reading the book I immediately imagined Ponty as Bill Murray (Apparently I wasn’t the only one!). While I do like the suggestion people have made of Nathan Fillion as Jack, I was thinking Jon Hamm, but maybe he is just a little TOO ruggedly handsome. He is actually great at comedic acting (if you have ever seen his appearances on SNL).
Happy 4th everyone!
I have to disagree with hellokittee about King Leo. I couldn’t get enough of his many alternative titles. But I second Jon Hamm as a very funny actor – SNL is basically all I know him from, besides a small part in that pointless Day The Earth Stood Still remake. (I understand he’s on some rather successful cable TV series, I think it’s about smoking and drinking whiskey, something like that…) I wish I was just a fraction as ruggedly handsome as him.
I’ve been picturing Jack as that tall guy from the American version of The Office, you know the one I mean. No, he’s not all that rugged looking, but he’s got the goffy charm integral to the part. Just dress him up in a lumberjack shirt. They were considering him for the Captain America movie, you know. (?!)
And now an interlude with King Leo:
“Well, now, King Leo is a vast and complicated temple of knowledge, and if he reveals his secrets, his powers are diminished… Is it possible that before time began, King Leo had a two-summer stint at Bosco’s Specialty Automotive Repair? I cannot say. I simply cannot say.” :laugh:
I too bought “Death Rat” when it came out, but somehow never got around to reading it until now. Thanks to Sampo for the suggestion, especially since it came as I was finishing up Martin Gilbert’s history of the Holocaust. So yeah, I needed something light.
Really enjoyed the book. Here are some thoughts:
* Did anyone else think that the cover art hurt the book’s sales? I cannot even visit a website that has those Orkin ads with the giant animated cockroaches, so it strikes me that some people would hesitate to buy a book with a giant rat on the cover;
* Like others here, I did find the first chapter hard to get past — Ponty’s personality makes developing affection for him difficult — but the book picked up steam after that, and in the end it was a very nice read. Many laugh out loud moments (although strangely I can’t quite remember which ones right now);
* Despite listening to “A Prairie Home Companion” for years, it never occurred to me until reading this thread that Gus Bromstead was supposed to be Garrison Keilor;
* The only major criticism I would make is how of it’s time the book is. But it’s a minor quibble, especially with a first novel. Nelson’s whole experience with his publisher does show just how big a role luck plays in finding an audience. Too bad he didn’t have more luck.
I’ve never been that good at casting novels.
My favorite part, without a doubt, is when Pontius begins to worry about the “feral turkeys” that will no doubt put an end to his life during the hunting trip.
Personal I didn’t care for the book (Don’t stone me) I thought It would done better as comic or web comic where could see action. I like Kevin’s Year at movies And the Eward the less more.
“so it was released with little fanfare or support”
I guess maybe that’s why he was such a prick to everyone at the book signing, then?
I also kept picturing John Krasinski (from “The Office”) as Jack Ryback, just with facial hair and a sweater. The only other character I immediately casted was Ponty – how about Richard Riehle who played Tom in “Office Space”? The guy who made the Jump To Conclusions mat?
Overall, I got a good chuckle out of “Death Rat”. I got a kick out of King Leo and the other characters’ reactions to his antics. Parts of Mike’s narrative felt like a bit like unwritten host segments, where a goofy idea or character quality is expounded upon for a paragraph or two, then the plot proceeds. I liked the scene where Jack is waiting to meet King Leo and he hears strange sounds outside the door:
“First some hysterical screaming that had him momentarily worried, followed quickly by laughter from the same apparent source. He mused briefly on what could have caused the extremes of emotion. Being set upon by wolves only to discover that they were quite tame, that each wanted to lick your hand more vigorously than the last? A knife-wielding intruder waiting for you around a corner who turned out to be your husband, wearing an apron, cutting a lime, just about to ask you where the Captain Morgan’s was?”
I was just thinking, what about Alan Arkin as Ponty? And maybe Joe Flaherty as Bromstad.
I’m going to half-agree with hellokittee #36 in that King Leo was half-annoying. I found him to be an over the top characterture at first, but as I read on I found a few passages involving him to be rather funny (most of them have been recounted above in the comments) and realized that he was SUPPOSED to be a characterture, so I give King Leo a pass, even though, yeah, he was probably my least fave character, if I had to choose.
I TOTALLY agree with hellokittee #36 in regards to the story building up nicely and then abruptly ending. I thought the same thing. The epilogue was good (as I mentioned up at #22) but I felt the climax of the action could of used a bit of fleshing out. The idea of a rat/bear-fur covered Bromsted crawling around in the dark with Ponty down in the cave didn’t seem fully realized even though it draws nice parallels to the story that Ponty wrote.
A good first novel. I think Mike should write another one. You know, when he’s not busy snarking on facebook or twitter or whathaveyou.
There is one candidate for Bromsted that has not been mentioned yet. This spring I saw “The Conspirator” and when the character of the prosecuting attorney was introduced I thought it was Garrison Keilor doing his John Huston impression. Turns out it was Danny Huston.
When I read it, I kept picturing Woody Allen as Ponty. Mike was Jack. Peter Boyle as Bromstead. Chris Tucker was King Leo. Sandy was Catherine O’Hara. Great book though, I wish Mike would do a sequel. I’d buy it.
Have no interest in buying this book and reading it. So why am I posting on here?
Sorry I’m a bit late with this.
It had been a while since I’d read the book, so I went through it again. I agree that it starts a bit slow, but it gets better as it goes on. I’m glad that Mike didn’t take the easy way out in the end and have an “all is forgiven” finish. Yes, it does have a happy ending for Ponty, but it’s a more quiet one than you might think.
As for casting, I was thinking maybe William H. Macy for Ponty and, perhaps, Brendan Fraser for Jack. I agree with previous posters on Chris Tucker for King Leo and, if Ventura isn’t willing, R. Lee Ermey for Herzog.
And, how’s this for the teaser trailer:
*****
(Screen starts black, then the camera moves into a dark, scary woodland area, towards a gloomy mineshaft opening. Ominous music starts.)
NICK TATE (v.o.): Deep in the Minnesota woods, where civilization doesn’t exist…it is waiting…and watching…and hungering.
(Brief flash of fangs, followed by a zoom in on a tall, muscular, backlit figure. More dramtic music starts.)
TATE (v.o.): And there’s only one man…only one man…who can face the danger…and conquer the fear. Based on the remarkable true story of one man’s fight against the-
MIKE (v.o.): Hold it. Wait a minute.
(Cut to black, music out. New shot of a recording booth. Mike moves into shot.)
MIKE: Hi, Mike Nelson here. Actually, for legal reasons, I just need to say that this is not, repeat not, a true story. Actually, it’s just a little movie we’ve made based on a book I wrote a while back. It’s called “Mike Nelson’s ‘Death Rat'” and it’s pretty good. I hope you’ll go see it and enjoy it. Thanks.
(Shot opens up to show Tate standing behind a microphone, script in hand.)
TATE: Uh, Mike?
MIKE: Yeah, Nick?
TATE: What do I do now? I’ve got another page-and-a-half of copy left. I’ve got the cast, the director. I haven’t even gotten to the tagline yet.
MIKE: Well, you can still read them, can’t you?
TATE: No, I can’t. You spoiled the atmosphere. I’ll sound like an idiot.
MIKE: Then, just say anything.
TATE: (annoyed) Nelson, I’m a professional. I’m not going to just wing it and hope it sounds good.
MIKE: Nick, please…
TATE: (angry) Okay, Nelson, here’s anything. (leans into microphone, reads in monotone) Mike Nelson’s “Death Rat”. Coming soon. (really angry) Happy now?
(Tate tosses script to floor and leaves. Mike looks sheepishly at camera.)
MIKE: That’s “Death Rat”. Uh…please see it.
(Mike leaves the studio. Fade to black as a graphic appears on-screen.)
TRAP THE RAT. 5/25/2012
*****
Any good?
@45 – What, Danny Huston from X-Men: Wolverine and the John Adams miniseries?
Ohh, yeah. Makes you believe there’s cloning labs out on Lake Wobegon. :)
@38 – * Did anyone else think that the cover art hurt the book’s sales? I cannot even visit a website that has those Orkin ads with the giant animated cockroaches, so it strikes me that some people would hesitate to buy a book with a giant rat on the cover;
Ah, well, you see, that was Mike’s attempt at SATIRE!…It’s a Letterman style bit of irony, that we’re supposed to think his book is a big cheesy pulp novel about a giant rat, instead of a quirky Fargo-esque ramble about Minnesota.
Well, um, congratulations, Mike, most non-MSTies think it is a book about a giant rat (albeit a satirical one), and haven’t bothered with it. But hey, nobody ever said comedy was easy. ;)
(Y’see, if Mike hadn’t been so caught up in his own brand image, and made some concessions to the great unwashed folk who’d never heard of him, we might’ve had the book sold more on the topic of a dripping-with-irony native Minnesota parody, like “Dairyland” or “Gopher State” or “Land of Enchantment”, or whatever the heck the state nickname is–
Which means, by law, that the cover would have had junk-drawer postcards of barns on it, or a Local Hero shot of Pontius with a puppy-dog look on his face standing up to his knees in water….Or wait, that would be the movie poster, just as long as they didn’t sell it like “Cedar Rapids”, and, by law, put Winona Ryder in it.) ;)