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A review by karagee
Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
3.0
I read a lot of books by Chris Crutcher back in high school and even though it was obvious I wasn't his target audience (seeing as I'm not a boy and was never an athlete), I connected with his books. This is the first book I've read by Crutcher in probably 15 years and I enjoyed it for what it was, but I can see the problems better than I could at 15.
This book would not be received well at all if it were written today. The fact that it was written in the early 80s is the only excuse for it being written the way it was. And I'm willing to excuse it, though I understand why not everyone would be able to.
Since this is a book written by a white guy in a small rural town in 1983, it doesn't seem to be afraid to show some biases. The one black character is referred to as 'negro' or 'colored' (and sometimes worse, when the antagonist is talking), the girlfriend gets fridged for maximum manpain, and the personality of any female characters are basically nonexistent (even the fridged girlfriend).
But it tried.
I'll give Crutcher the benefit of the doubt and assume that writing a character who stands up for the town's one black kid when he is targeted for who he is was a big deal for small town America in the 80s. Perhaps the best we can expect is that the main character made an effort, even if the follow through was a letdown.
I'm not the least bit surprised by Crutcher's non-existent female characters; I've always known he focused more on male camaraderie (especially in athletics), but it was disappointing to see that Louie's only role models were stoic, emotionally-distant men, except for his girlfriend, who had to die so that Louie could realize his full potential as a track runner >_>
Throughout the entire book, I just kept thinking what this book would look like if it were written in 2020 (or adapted to screen). Nearly 40 years later, I'm willing to bet some small towns in America would still ostracize Louie for doing what he did and I just couldn't help but think how impactful it would be to see what taking a stand would look like if this book were written with today's social progress in mind. Washington and Becky would both have to be more important. Watching Louie spiral out of control mourning his girlfriend didn't mean squat when she's just an abstract ideal, a pipe dream of a perfect life for Louie. And standing up for Washington lost its oomph when the two didn't meet face to face until the last 10 pages. I wanted Louie to do more, so I will always be preoccupied with what this book could have accomplished rather than what it was on the surface.
This book would not be received well at all if it were written today. The fact that it was written in the early 80s is the only excuse for it being written the way it was. And I'm willing to excuse it, though I understand why not everyone would be able to.
Since this is a book written by a white guy in a small rural town in 1983, it doesn't seem to be afraid to show some biases. The one black character is referred to as 'negro' or 'colored' (and sometimes worse, when the antagonist is talking), the girlfriend gets fridged for maximum manpain, and the personality of any female characters are basically nonexistent (even the fridged girlfriend).
But it tried.
I'll give Crutcher the benefit of the doubt and assume that writing a character who stands up for the town's one black kid when he is targeted for who he is was a big deal for small town America in the 80s. Perhaps the best we can expect is that the main character made an effort, even if the follow through was a letdown.
I'm not the least bit surprised by Crutcher's non-existent female characters; I've always known he focused more on male camaraderie (especially in athletics), but it was disappointing to see that Louie's only role models were stoic, emotionally-distant men, except for his girlfriend, who had to die so that Louie could realize his full potential as a track runner >_>
Throughout the entire book, I just kept thinking what this book would look like if it were written in 2020 (or adapted to screen). Nearly 40 years later, I'm willing to bet some small towns in America would still ostracize Louie for doing what he did and I just couldn't help but think how impactful it would be to see what taking a stand would look like if this book were written with today's social progress in mind. Washington and Becky would both have to be more important. Watching Louie spiral out of control mourning his girlfriend didn't mean squat when she's just an abstract ideal, a pipe dream of a perfect life for Louie. And standing up for Washington lost its oomph when the two didn't meet face to face until the last 10 pages. I wanted Louie to do more, so I will always be preoccupied with what this book could have accomplished rather than what it was on the surface.