What is "kockroach"

Kockroach is a 2007 novel by William Lashner, written under the name "Tyler Knox". It was published by William Morrow and Company/ Harper Collins. In 2008, an Italian translation, Lo strano caso dello scarafaggio che diventò uomo, was published by Newton Compton Editori, and a Portuguese translation, Kockroach: A Metamorfose, was published by Paralelo 40°.