5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Food for Thought, A Fast-Paced Plot, and Teen-Friendly Trappings: Masterful, July 20, 2006
Rash by Pete Hautman is a wry look at a possible 2070s United States, now called the USSA (United Safer States of America? United Socialist States of America?). In this dystopian society, Americans (as well as people in most other countries) have traded freedom and independence for safety. It's no longer legal to play football, or to run without wearing extensive padding a helmet. Alcohol, cigarettes, temper tantrums, hunting, large dogs - all illegal. Three quarters of people over the age of ten are on the drug Levulor, which slows their reflexes, and helps them to keep their tempers in check.
Levulor apparently doesn't work all that well, though, because twenty-four percent of adults are in prison. The government uses prison labor to do the jobs that other people don't want to do, like cleaning septic systems, working on roads, and making frozen food products. People are carted off for all sorts of minor infractions (including "self-mutilation", which can include weighing too much), because their labor is needed in the work camps.
Rash is the story of sixteen-year-old Bo, who lives with his ineffectual mother and his nostalgic Gramps, while his father and older brother are off in prison. Sandbagged by a rival, Bo is unfairly blamed for a mysterious rash that spreads through his school. Pushed to the breaking point, he lashes out against his rival, and is sentenced to three years of labor in a prison camp up in the (former) Canadian tundra. The workers in this camp spend 18 hours a day, seven days a week, making pizzas. The camp actually reminded me a lot of the youth offender camp in "Holes", but set in a much colder climate.
Taken out of the protective cushion of society, Bo encounters things he's never seen before. Deliberate violence and cruelty. Football. Polar bears. And, surprisingly, the feeling of being part of a team. Meanwhile, an artificial intelligence agent that Bo created before he left evolves into a sentient being called Bork. Bork starts communicating with Bo, and works to rescue him from a land of endless pizza and football.
I liked double-entendre of "rash" in the book. Bo is wrongly accused of creating a rash. His real crime is his own rash behavior, in a society where being rash is just about the worst thing a person can be. I also enjoyed the character of Gramps, constantly reminiscing about his youth (when people could actually own guns, and buy beer in restaurants, and wear sneakers). Bork is also a lot of fun - Hautman does a nice job of capturing his gradual shift from computer to independent thinker, and his development of a sense of humor.
Overall, I found Rash to be a fast read, one that grabbed my attention from the first page, and didn't let go until I finished. In addition to reminding me of "Holes", Rash evoked a more benign "1984". What's disturbing about this book is that our society is right now on a slippery slope, trading off freedom for safety. We face these questions every day. Hautman takes a look at how sterile and monotonous our society could become, if this balance slips too far. He does this while simultaneously giving us a fast-moving plot with teen-friendly trappings (hand-held computers, artificial intelligence, pizza, football, and teen male posturing). All in all, I found it to be a masterful accomplishment from this National Book Award winning author (for Godless).
This book review was originally published on my blog, Jen Robinson's Book Page, on July 20th, 2006.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
harrison bergeron meets holes, November 24, 2006
Bo Marsten is living in the tail end of this century in the "USSA", a place where beer and french fries are outlawed, a good percent of the population is on a Ritalin-like drug, sports can only be played with maximum protective clothing, and manual labor is performed by people arrested for "rage" crimes. Bo's speech and action will seem like a normal teen's to the reader, but he winds up incarcerated for fighting with a classmate over a girl (using his fists, not weapons). He is placed in a work camp run by McDonald's and set in the frigid wilds of Canada. Like "Holes," the wardens are corrupt, the other inmates aggressive, and the environment punishing. Bo manages to become part of an elite group of boys who play football, the old-fashioned kind that is outlawed in the rest of the country. Meanwhile, an A1 program that Bo created in school has mutated and acquired a "life" of its own. The creation, called a web ghost, may just be able to spring Bo from his sentence early.
The book is an original, thought-provoking read. Just a decade ago, kids didn't wear bicycle helmets; could mandatory law be possible in the future? The only flaw is that apart from Bo and the A1, there is minimal character development. In "Holes" the relationship between Stanley and Zero helped give Stanley's character more depth. I also wanted more backstory on Bo. Had he really always had a bad temper, or did it develop when he became a teenager? Did the government/school do other things besides prescribe meds for people who were potential discipline problems?
How did he deal with his father leaving the first time? But I guess those questions were outside the scope of the book.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
