Customer Reviews

Rash

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Four brilliantly depicted, very realistic misfit youths embark on a cross-country trek yearning for an escape from each of their own personal hells. Charles Romalotti writes in a graphic, yet very easy to digest style that makes putting this book down after starting it a nearly impossible task, making Rash the equivalent of Heroin for the eyes...it's that good. I spanned the 172 pages within the time alotted me by a two-hour train commute and a fifteen-minute waiting time at my doctor's office. Additionally, it left me wanting more...like any good drug does. This possibly makes Romalotti akin to a "Literary Pusher".

Though it might be classified by some as a Horror novel, I found the story to be extremely believable...most of the events depicted being plausible. The main characters could be the kids you see on St. Marks Place here in NYC, though the bulk of the story takes shape in Texas. The author has an amazing grasp of street life and the Punk subculture...the nuances, smells, and sounds seem to burst forth from each page intoxicating your mind, making it seem as if the you're a witness to these events first-hand, as opposed to just reading about them.

Discovering this new author was, to me, the equivalent of discovering a band that I'd previously never heard of which then becomes a new fave, resulting in countless trips to the used CD store in search of their other releases. Now I have to dig up a copy of his other novel, Salad Days.

According to the credits, this book is being developed into an indie motion picture (yeah!) and the author is now working on a sequel to this book as well, titled Talon. Good for usI, for one, am hurting for another fix.

Lots of adjectives come to mind when reading Romalotti's latest offering--gritty, imaginative, original, raw, risky--but none seem to fit. Indeed, it seems a bit disrespectful to use use such hackneyed words for describing such an original (can't come up with a better descriptor and don't have a thesaurus handy) work.

Rash takes as its subject a handful of post-pubescent misfits, tosses them out in the streets and then...Well, I'll let you find out the rest for yourself. One caveat: Rash is NOT for the faint of heart or the reader looking for the standard adolescent/young adult angst-ridden story. This isn't a book waiting for John Hughes to come along and turn it into a screenplay with a catchy little pop soundtrack. The vignettes (the story is written in a sort of documentary/journal format) read like something Dennis Cooper, Brett Easton Ellis, and Sin Soraco would come up with if left for seventy-two hours in a room without windows. Yes, it's that disturbing.

Get it NOW. You will not be disappointed.

I just finished Rash the other day. I must say it is one of the most twisted books i have ever read. The character descriptions are amazing, one really gets a feel for all of them. The end though, was jaw dropping. I sat there thinking to myself, "what the...?" I can't wait for the movie and the next book.

I haven't been much of a book person in my life, although I'm making an effort to change that. In fact, I was one of the millions of kids who was labeled ADD and drugged up because I couldn't sit through a book. If only they had given me books like Rash instead of the garbage I was forced to read in high school English, things would have been a whole lot different. Simply put, this book is awesome. Rash is a testament to Romalotti's ability to tie in an incredible range of insight and variety of life experiences with a thoroughly engaging storyline. In addition to including elements of thriller, mystery/suspense, and horror novels, Romalotti's foreshadowing and non-chronological presentation appear to give away the ending from the very start. For most of the book, I felt pretty confident that I had a firm grasp on exactly what was coming. When the expected scene arrives, however, the mechanics of the situation and the complex interplay of multiple plots absolutely blows you away. This struck me as a sign of true literary talent, as Romalotti successfully shocked and stupefied me even when he'd describe something that I felt I already knew. The opening third of the book is an interesting collection of seemingly unrelated stories, but the paths begin to cross in mysterious and surprising ways. At times, the story gets as dirty as a pornographic novel, but I sincerely believe Romalotti uses such graphic scenes only to demonstrate the most contemptible qualities of human nature while developing his characters and showing that they mirror all of us in one way or another. Personally, I found this an undeniably true portrayal of the modern world in which the individuals who point moral fingers and criticize the behavior of others are often exposed for having partaken in the same actions themselves.

Obviously, I have nothing but good things to say about this book, except that I had to stop reading it at some point. Fortunately, Romalotti takes care of that by promising a sequel in 2002 entitled Talon. In the meantime, I'll be turning my attention to his previous work, Salad Days, which seems to have garnered similar praise from everyone who has read it.

Rash is only the 2nd book I've ever read by Romalotti and already he is becoming one of my favorite authors. Rash is quite different than Salad Days in the fact that it's more along the lines of the horror genre, but I love horror so I have no problem with it. What I do like is that he still uses many of the things that made me love Salad Days so much. There are still characters that we can all relate to. And most importantly, Frank makes some special appearances in this book. I hope Frank keeps popping up in the books, because he's one of my favorite characters of any book.

Rash follows the journeys of 4 homeless kids. Although they are together in a group, all 4 of the individuals couldn't be more different. Romalotti does such a good job with all the details that after the first few chapters you find yourself attached to each and every character, hoping that everything works out for all of them.

The ending to this book is completely shocking. After the first chapter, you think you have an idea of what was going to happen, but then at the end it takes a total turn, and you are left thinking: "How did all that happen?"

So that's two books for Romalotti that I think everyone should read. He's a great author, especially when it comes to developing characters. I have a sense that he's a normal guy that anyone could hang out with. When you read other authors, you get this sense that they are somehow detached from society, but it's obvious that Romalotti knows a whole lot about what it's like to be a kid in the underground society. Whether that society is hardcore punk, Dugeons & Dragon's playing kids, or just teenagers sitting around talking about things that kids talk about, Romalotti has it all down, and I can't wait to read his next book.

Unbelievably hard to pull away from this book. I won't go into details about the storyline but if you are into the goth/punk subculture and like possible real-life horror; this book is it. I've read all of Romalotti's books and this is the book that got me hooked. Excellent story, never got bored, loved the characters, and was blown away.

I loved it! Fantastic work. "Rash" reminds me of a combination between Hellraiser, Suburbia, and its own language completely. It's got a real surrealistic feel, it totally blew me away. I can always tell a great story when I'm reading it and it draws me in to such an extent that it creates a film in my head (that's to say I can visualize it). I honestly couldn't put it down.

I was actually on the streets for a year and lived in a squat. I know how rough it can be, and Treva has some of the same traits of myself. I've been through a lot so I can sort of relate, but eh, I came out stronger.

Anyway, I love "Rash"! Charles Romalotti is a brilliant writer. Honestly, it blew me away, and that's hard to do in my case.

From the first paragraph to the last, "Rash" screams and grinds like the punk rock that no doubt(no pun intended)inspired it. I could easily see the action taking place and almost smell the rancid odors of the street punk characters. Not only was I shocked by some of the passages, I found myself teetering on excitement with each violent encounter. This work of fiction burned along at such an amazing clip, that upon finishing it, I immediatly wanted more, more, more! Twisted yet so delightful.

Rash was one graphic Mama Jama, like one epic snuff film. The revenge in this book was well worth the wait. It's like you're there. Most of the time I couldn't help but think that this would make a great movie. The filmmakers might have some trouble getting that last part by the censors. Knowing that this takes place in Texas makes it hard for me to tell if it's a work of fiction. If I had a dime for every drag queen and screwed up person that lives there, I would have a lot of dimes! If I had to give this book a one-line review it would probably be something like: Rash - for anyone who knows how screwed up Texas really is.

Seek help, Romalotti, seek help!

As Treva hungers for her fix, I hunger for more Romalotti. This book is just awesome-one of those books you can't put down and never want to end. The characters in the book are so realistic they must be based in part on real life people. This author has a unique look on life-he must be a disturbed individual. I have to wonder if he writes from his room at the mental hospital. I want more!!!!!