The novel was ok. I was expecting a lot more, as I really enjoy dystopias. The Handmaid's Tale and It Can't Happen Here are two of my favorite novels so I had high hopes for this one. For those who haven't read it, the book takes place in a super crowded New York City and follows Police Detective Andy Rusch, his crotchety but loveable roomate Sol, Billy Chung, a poor kid who's family are immigrants from Taiwan and Shirl Green, the girlfriend of Big Mike - a shady character. As the plot unfolds, we witness an unbearable heat wave and the grinding poverty the people of New York live in as they struggle with food and water rations, substandard housing and no hope of the situation improving.
The first thing that bothered me was that Andy Rusch was kind of wishy washy and not very likeable as a protagonist. He whined a lot.
Shirl was such a sexist caricature that I wanted to pull my hair out. In the first part of the book Harrison used her to titillate readers, repeatedly describing her perfect breasts and beautiful body. She spends much of the story gawking at everything and not really seeming to understand the world around her. She has little personality and I think she was underused as a character. We do learn some about her history but I would have liked to know more and to have read more scenes from her point of view. What we get isn't nearly enough.
Billy Chung was my favorite character and he was the most developed one of the bunch. I really felt for the kid and just wanted to hug him. I don't know if we are supposed to sympathize with him though, he does not always make the best decisions for himself or others. Is he a bad guy that we feel sorry for, or are my sympathies misplaced because he whines the least of the characters?
Many reviews I have read of this book praise it because it's not "preachy." I want to know what they were reading, because my copy had a Sol giving a six page rant about how all the problems would be solved if people had access to and education about birth control. I happen to agree that birth control is a good thing, and I think this book was very topical at the time because it was written before Griswold v Connecticut was decided. But some hinting at this earlier in the book would have been great. It would have made more sense as a thematic element instead of just grumpy old man talk. Shirl, as we know has had at least four or five lovers, and it's hinted at many more. But she is against Birth Control, and has never gotten pregnant. She is healthy and 23 years of age. How is this possible? Women with far poorer nutrition have eleven babies in the apartments next door and upstairs. You would think that someone Shirl has known had an unplanned pregnancy that did not go well so she would be somewhat sympathetic. But no, she calls all forms if ot it "baby killing." When Sol asks her "How is preventing a sperm from meeting an egg baby killing? The sperm isn't a baby!" She just says "GOSH! I never thought about it like that before." Her naivete was beyond my suspension of disbelief.
Also there's probably something to be said for the racial stereotypes of Asian and Black people in the book. But I really think of all the hot button issues Harrison tackled he was the most sensitive to race. It was far from perfect, but would not be the first thing that comes to mind when you ask what I find problematic about the book.
The first thing that bothered me was that Andy Rusch was kind of wishy washy and not very likeable as a protagonist. He whined a lot.
Shirl was such a sexist caricature that I wanted to pull my hair out. In the first part of the book Harrison used her to titillate readers, repeatedly describing her perfect breasts and beautiful body. She spends much of the story gawking at everything and not really seeming to understand the world around her. She has little personality and I think she was underused as a character. We do learn some about her history but I would have liked to know more and to have read more scenes from her point of view. What we get isn't nearly enough.
Billy Chung was my favorite character and he was the most developed one of the bunch. I really felt for the kid and just wanted to hug him. I don't know if we are supposed to sympathize with him though, he does not always make the best decisions for himself or others. Is he a bad guy that we feel sorry for, or are my sympathies misplaced because he whines the least of the characters?
Many reviews I have read of this book praise it because it's not "preachy." I want to know what they were reading, because my copy had a Sol giving a six page rant about how all the problems would be solved if people had access to and education about birth control. I happen to agree that birth control is a good thing, and I think this book was very topical at the time because it was written before Griswold v Connecticut was decided. But some hinting at this earlier in the book would have been great. It would have made more sense as a thematic element instead of just grumpy old man talk. Shirl, as we know has had at least four or five lovers, and it's hinted at many more. But she is against Birth Control, and has never gotten pregnant. She is healthy and 23 years of age. How is this possible? Women with far poorer nutrition have eleven babies in the apartments next door and upstairs. You would think that someone Shirl has known had an unplanned pregnancy that did not go well so she would be somewhat sympathetic. But no, she calls all forms if ot it "baby killing." When Sol asks her "How is preventing a sperm from meeting an egg baby killing? The sperm isn't a baby!" She just says "GOSH! I never thought about it like that before." Her naivete was beyond my suspension of disbelief.
Also there's probably something to be said for the racial stereotypes of Asian and Black people in the book. But I really think of all the hot button issues Harrison tackled he was the most sensitive to race. It was far from perfect, but would not be the first thing that comes to mind when you ask what I find problematic about the book.
