Book Bite: Introducing the jaywalking Kafka cockroach

It’s not ever day that I get the opportunity to bring illiterate hitchhiking cockroaches to the virtual pages of RobAroundBooks. But today I do, and I’m rather pleased about it.

This insane and not too ‘health and safety’ friendly video comes courtesy of Kafkacotton, a small company who produce unique literary themed t-shirts for the more discerning bibliophile. And this video clip is in promotion of the launch of their latest ‘ On The Road’ design, in honour of Jack Kerouac and his seminal beat novel of the same name.

I’m sure we’re all in agreement that Gregor the Cockroach – who offers more than a passing nod to the great Frank Kafka – is a rather odd character to find wandering around the highways, byways and university campuses of the US of A. But you’ve got to admire the ingenuity and guts of the man in the suit – Brian Crabtree, the brains behind Kafkacotton. If nothing else he’s giving himself some much needed publicity, and it seems to be working out well for him (if you visit this post then you will see that both ABC and CBS have interviewed him).

Behind Mr Crabtree’s efforts though isn’t just a motivation to make money for his business. Kafkacotton is also dedicated towards raising funds toward fighting literacy, and 5% of all of their sales go towards helping this noble cause.

So if you’re interested in adorning yourself in one of the four designs that have been launched in the Kafkacotton range so far – while at the same time doing a little something to help more people get into the reading thing – then get yourself along to the Kafkacotton website. All sales are currently managed using the Etsy system, and all orders are available for shipping worldwide.

And if you’re particularly keen on getting your hands on the new Kerouac-flavoured then right now may be the best time to do it. Up until this Friday only (March 12th – Jack Kerouac’s birthday) Kafkacotton are offering customers a special 15% off discount of the Kerouac t-shirt, using the special promotional code “KEROUACWASHERE” (further details HERE).

Rob’s own opinion of the Kafkacotton range? Well I like them for two reasons. Firstly, the designs are quite obscure, and that mean only true fans will probably be able to work out the meaning of any of these designs, and I love that geekish concept . Secondly, the simplicity of the designs actually hold real attention to detail. And while these designs may look straightforward enough a lot of thought has gone into designing them. Take the new Kerouac design for instance. The font used for this is derived from the Underwood Portable typewriter on which Kerouac banged out his literary creation during his uninterrupted three weeks frenzy (you can see more on the Kerouac scroll HERE, which also includes close-ups of the font detail on the original manuscript).

My only disappointment though is that the Kafkacotton line doesn’t yet feature ‘Gregor the Cockroach’ suits. I can just see myself wandering around town as a giant cockroach. Then again I would never be able to carry off the character of Gregor quite as well as Brian does. His insane craziness is in a different league . Thanks for the laughs Brian and team. Keep up the great work!

:: Aside from their primary website, Kafkacotton can be found on Facebook and on Twitter.