The story, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, by Robert C. O’Brien, is a fantasy and sci-fi novel. A big theme of the story is perseverance and determination, through everything the main character does to ensure the conflict can be resolved smoothly. The book was inspired through real concerns about animal testing and the ethics of it. The story’s outline is about a widowed field mouse named Mrs. Frisby. Mrs. Frisby had 4 children and they all live under a farmer’s field. Her youngest son, Timothy, falls sick with pneumonia and is unable to move. This becomes a bigger issue as spring arrives, and the fields will be plowed soon. Mrs. Frisby then consults a wise owl on what to do in order to save Timothy from their home that will be destroyed. The owl tells Mrs. Frisby to consult a group of rats living in a nearby rosebush. When she meets the rats, she learns that they aren’t just ordinary rats. They are genetically enhanced rats from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The leader of the rats, Nicodemus, explains their backstory to Mrs. Frisby. Nicodemus mentions that Mrs. Frisby’s husband, Jonathan, helped them escape. This motivates the rats to want to help Mrs. Frisby. The story explains the motivation and perseverance of Mrs. Frisby through the many actions that she does to ensure Timothy is saved. I really enjoyed reading the book because of the suspenseful nature and urgency for action that it included. It never seemed to get boring because there was always something interesting happening and not just filler writing to make the book longer. I don’t have any complaints about the book and it was a fun read. I especially liked how the book’s implications on new technology are more real now than ever. It was written in 1971 but the ideas on genetic modification are becoming more prevalent now, over 50 years after the publication. These ideas inspired me to think about some of the benefits and drawbacks of the technology, and how the world can learn from it today. One more thing I liked about the book was the way the author made the characters more personable and created an emotional connection to the characters. I liked how easy it was to empathize with the characters because of how it was written. Overall, it was a great book because of the suspense, connection to real-world dilemmas, and connection to the characters. I would advise readers to read the book thoughtfully and see how it can connect to themselves in ways that they wouldn’t normally realize.
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