Make Room! Make Room!

Original Title: Make Room! Make Room!
English Title: Make Room! Make Room!
Turkish Title: Yer Açın! Yer Açın!
Author: Harry Harrison
Pages: 218
Rating: 4/5
While I was reading this book…: …we started making plans for a possible trip to Japan in 2013.

WHY THIS BOOK?
I found the book title attractive enough to read. Plus, it’s a dystopian novel.

THE STORY:
It is 1999 and 35 million people living in the city of New York are trying to find their own ways to deal with heat. Our core character, Andy Rusch is a detective, one of the lucky amonst the population to have a job an done of the unlucky in the population to deal with never-ending problems caused by crowds. Andy Rusch is assigned to investigate a murder. While doing his Research, he falls in love and tries to find his own way of enjoyment in a life driven by pressure.

MY COMMENTS:
What I liked most about this book is characterization. Andy, his flatmate, his girlfriend, his coworkers and even the local criminal were characterized such that I was able to get a real sense of living in a overpopulated future where almost everything was scarce. Each character of the book had his own flaws, just like any of us. These flaws were presented so nicely that it facilitated my connection with each character. In addition, the daily life of the characters were so plainly written that I was able to relate with the situations they go through.

I was also pleased with the content. I like easier to imagine sci-fi boks. The probable causes of the future such as overpopulation or all kinds of social problems caused by scarcity of resources maket his book an easy sci-fi read for everyone.

This book was written in 1966 and it was in a way projecting how life would become if birth control is not used. Another important theme of the book is how to manage scarce resources, which will always be a critical issue for humanity. I liked the way Harry Harrison exaggerated things and how he painted his dystopian future. Although some of the material of this book can be considered as valid even today, I wouldn’t name it a a classic as some do.

APPLICABLE CHALLENGES:
It was my first Douglas Adams novel so I can count it for New Author Challenge.
It was dystopian so I can count it for The Dystopia 2012 Challenge.