The Cockroach cover art

The Cockroach

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Cockroach

By: Ian McEwan
Narrated by: Bill Nighy
Try Premium Plus free

Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $12.99

Buy Now for $12.99

About this listen

Kafka meets The Thick of It in a bitingly funny new political satire from Ian McEwan.

That morning, Jim Sams, clever but by no means profound, woke from uneasy dreams to find himself transformed into a gigantic creature.

Jim Sams has undergone a metamorphosis. In his previous life he was ignored or loathed, but in his new incarnation he is the most powerful man in Britain - and it is his mission to carry out the will of the people. Nothing must get in his way: not the opposition, nor the dissenters within his own party. Not even the rules of parliamentary democracy.

With trademark intelligence, insight and scabrous humour, Ian McEwan pays tribute to Franz Kafka’s most famous work to engage with a world turned on its head.

©2019 Ian McEwan (P)2019 Penguin Audio Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Political Satire Comedy Witty
All stars
Most relevant  
I love his writing and enjoyed this book. Probably not good value for money as it is very short. A really fantastic performance

It’s quite short!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
McEwan’s political allegory is the Animal Farm for our generation. An astute warning to human kind. What happens when capitalism and consumerism are uncoupled from that which sustains them? Bill Nighy is superb as the narrator.

A devilishly dark allegory

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.