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A review by twilliamson
Rage by Richard Bachman
2.0
Rage has been out of publication now for about twenty years or so, after the book was deemed by King--here writing as Richard Bachman--admitted that the book might do more damage than good in the wrong hands. Admittedly, the controversy behind the book is one of the reasons why I felt so compelled to track down a copy of it and read it for myself.
What strikes me about the novel is how frustrated the narrative feels; it's full of raw emotion, angry cynicism, and a disturbing, Lord of the Flies-esque finale, and I think King's protagonist has a lot in common with the likes of Holden Caulfield or other angry teenagers. The most personal parts of the novel showcase just how easily we can feel disenfranchised in our youth, and how dangerous these feelings of anger and aggression can become after years of various mental abuse or trauma. Many of the characters in the novel seem to struggle with one thing or another--"Pig Pen," a kid from a low-income family, might be one of the clearest representations of the frustrations of a low-income teen that I have seen in these sorts of literature--but I don't think the book is handled with the kind of nuance necessary to prevent it from being read maliciously.
Ultimately, the real problem with the book is that it's all so messy; King tries to counterbalance his own anger and frustration in the book with a deep psychological dive to exorcise these demons, but his art here (published in 1977, his fourth novel) is unrefined, and thus it is all too easy to read the book as condoning the actions of its protagonist as opposed to leveling a critical gaze. Its adult figures are all caricatures, while its teenage characters are all much more complex, and the result sometimes seems to communicate that the action the protagonist takes is thus excusable, even when it clearly isn't. This is, of course, part of the unreliability of the protagonist and his focalized narrative, but those unable to make this distinction I think can too readily relate to the narrative and seek to emulate all of the wrong parts of it.
I'm thus very conflicted about the book. Having read several of King's novels now, I feel as though he would likely have the skill today to edit and reissue the book to highlight all of its best themes and avoid the pitfalls that can cause it to be so readily misinterpreted. There is absolutely a valuable book buried in the mess of this one, but as it stands, I can both understand and agree with its having been taken off the market.
What strikes me about the novel is how frustrated the narrative feels; it's full of raw emotion, angry cynicism, and a disturbing, Lord of the Flies-esque finale, and I think King's protagonist has a lot in common with the likes of Holden Caulfield or other angry teenagers. The most personal parts of the novel showcase just how easily we can feel disenfranchised in our youth, and how dangerous these feelings of anger and aggression can become after years of various mental abuse or trauma. Many of the characters in the novel seem to struggle with one thing or another--"Pig Pen," a kid from a low-income family, might be one of the clearest representations of the frustrations of a low-income teen that I have seen in these sorts of literature--but I don't think the book is handled with the kind of nuance necessary to prevent it from being read maliciously.
Ultimately, the real problem with the book is that it's all so messy; King tries to counterbalance his own anger and frustration in the book with a deep psychological dive to exorcise these demons, but his art here (published in 1977, his fourth novel) is unrefined, and thus it is all too easy to read the book as condoning the actions of its protagonist as opposed to leveling a critical gaze. Its adult figures are all caricatures, while its teenage characters are all much more complex, and the result sometimes seems to communicate that the action the protagonist takes is thus excusable, even when it clearly isn't. This is, of course, part of the unreliability of the protagonist and his focalized narrative, but those unable to make this distinction I think can too readily relate to the narrative and seek to emulate all of the wrong parts of it.
I'm thus very conflicted about the book. Having read several of King's novels now, I feel as though he would likely have the skill today to edit and reissue the book to highlight all of its best themes and avoid the pitfalls that can cause it to be so readily misinterpreted. There is absolutely a valuable book buried in the mess of this one, but as it stands, I can both understand and agree with its having been taken off the market.