The Intricate Nature of Cross-Town Journeying in Rawi Hage's Cockroach

My intention is to explore the unnamed protagonist's search in Rawi Hage's Cockroach for cultural acceptability in North America as he positions himself in a psychic trip in Montreal's underground world. The Montreal that is "infested with newcomers" is seen through the existential exploration of the immigrant's life as he tries to situate himself in liminal spaces, be they geographic, linguistic, cultural, religious or sexual. In the novel, the spaces under and above the ground support or defy each other in their own idiosyncratic ways, with hope, survival and an ambiguous kind of displacement existing side by side. I focus on how the story unfolds through different places and maneuvers in a cryptic space of displacement. The narrative shifts between multilayered cinematic scenes suggesting the existence of a metropolis (Montreal) that is transformed into an alien example of a topography filled with phantasmagorical elements. My aim is to disclose the novel's spatial and spacious dimensions, trusting that it can add to the understanding of the literary immigrant's imaginary text