Rash (novel)

Rash is a 2006 novel written by Pete Hautman. It is set in the year 2074, in a futuristic America, that has become obsessed with safety and security. Nearly every potentially unsafe action has been criminalized, to the point that 24% of the population is incarcerated. Ironically, this large criminal population also provides the manpower that fuels the large corporations that now dominate the country.

First edition (publ. Simon & Schuster)

Kirkus Reviews calls the book "a winner", saying that it is "bitingly funny and unexpectedly heartwarming".[1] "In a starred review, PW called this dystopian fantasy of a futuristic nation wracked by litigiousness and terrorism "intelligent and darkly comic."[2]

Other notes

Hautman's intent in writing Rash was to consider the consequences of the current trend toward increased safety and security that we see in the United States today.[3] He says that the book could perhaps be called "2084", due to themes similar to those present in George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Almost all the computer systems in the novel are called "WindO", referencing the Microsoft operating system Windows. A "WindO" is a standardized tablet PC that has seemingly replaced any other PC, which is implied to have a similar concept and functionality of an iPad or Samsung Galaxy Tab.

References
  1. 2006. "RASH." Kirkus Reviews 74, no. 11: 573. Literary Reference Center, EBSCOhost (accessed June 11, 2011).
  2. 2007. "FICTION REPRINTS." Publishers Weekly 254, no. 49: 58. Literary Reference Center, EBSCOhost (accessed June 11, 2011).
  3. Corbett, Sue. 2006. "Safety--at What Cost?." Publishers Weekly 243, no. 19: 67. Literary Reference Center, EBSCOhost (accessed June 11, 2011).
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