Ratman's Notebooks is a short novel published in 1969. It was written by Stephen Gilbert (novelist)

Stephen Gilbert (novelist)

Stephen Gilbert was born at Newcastle, County Down . He worked for the Northern Whig until the mid-1930s when he joined the family firm of McCausland in Belfast. In 1939 he joined the Supplementary Reserve and served with the 3rd Ulster Searchlight Regiment in France...

, who was born in 1912, in Newcastle, County Down

Newcastle, County Down

Newcastle is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 7,444 people recorded in the 2001 Census. The seaside resort lies on the Irish Sea coast at the base of Slieve Donard, one of the Mourne Mountains, and is known for its sandy beach and the Royal County Down Golf Club...

, Northern Ireland. The short work features an unnamed misfit who relates better to rats than to humans. It was the basis for the films Willard

Willard (1971 film)

Willard is a 1971 horror film starring Bruce Davison and Ernest Borgnine, directed by Daniel Mann. The movie is based on the novel Ratman's Notebooks by Stephen Gilbert, and was nominated for an Edgar Award for best picture...

, Ben

Ben (1972 film)

Ben is a 1972 film about a young boy named Danny and his pet rat, Ben. This film is a sequel to the 1971 film Willard. The movie is known for its sentimental theme song performed by Michael Jackson.-Plot:...

, and the 2003 remake of the original film

Willard (2003 film)

Willard is a 2003 horror film loosely based on the novel Ratman's Notebooks by Stephen Gilbert and a remake of the 1971 film of the same name...

. After the release of the original film, the book was rereleased with the title Willard.

Plot

The book is set as a series of journal entries, where the unnamed narrator goes back and forth between his life with the rats and his work, in a low-level job at a company that his father used to own. In these entries, the young man dwells on the hatred he feels for his boss, the stresses of caring for his aging mother, a nameless girl he becomes fond of and above all the families of rats which he has befriended and which he uses them for company and companionship.

Eventually, the young man trains the rats to do things for him. His favorite is a white rodent, which he calls "Socrates". A rival to Socrates is "Ben", a large rat that the narrator grows to despise when it refuses to listen to him. The young man uses the rats to wreak revenge upon his boss, and havoc amongst the local shop owners and home owners, who he has robbed with the aide of his rat pack. His "ratman" robberies become a newspaper sensation in the area, and the man makes quite a stash of money for himself, and for the girl who he is courting at work. After his mother dies, the young man inherits the house.

Socrates is killed at the young man's work place, by his boss Mr. Martin, and the young man is forced to now use Ben in his criminal escapades. He devises a plan to have the rats kill Mr. Martin, avenging Socrates death. He then abandon all the rats at the scene of the crime, ridding himself of that part of his life. Eventually, as his relationship with the office girl moves towards marriage, Ben and his pack return, chasing the girl out of the house, and trapping the young man in the attic.

The book ends with the young man madly scribbling about the rats chewing away at the door.