Random Acts of Senseless Violence
{{Short description|1993 novel by Jack Womack}}
{{about|the novel|the song by Anthrax|Stomp 442}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox book |
| name = Random Acts of Senseless Violence
| image = File:RandomActsOfSenselessViolence.jpg
| caption = First edition (UK)
| author = Jack Womack
| illustrator =
| cover_artist =
| country = United States
| language = English
| series = "Dryco" series{{cite web|url=http://www.scifi.com/sfw/books/sfw6761.html |title=Going, Going, Gone |work=SCI FI Weekly |date=March 19, 2001 |accessdate=October 2, 2008 |author-link=Paul Di Filippo |first=Paul |last=Di Filippo |url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014000614/http://www.scifi.com/sfw/books/sfw6761.html |archivedate=October 14, 2008 }}
| genre = Speculative fiction, dystopian novel
| publisher = HarperCollins (UK)
Atlantic Monthly Press (US)[http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?1338 isfdb]
| pub_date = October 1993 (UK)
September 1994 (US)
| media_type = Print (hardcover)
| pages = 256
| isbn = 0-246-13850-5
| preceded_by = Elvissey
| followed_by = Going, Going, Gone
}}
Random Acts of Senseless Violence is a dystopian and speculative fiction novel by Jack Womack.
Plot introduction
The novel is told in the form of a fictional diary by the 12-year-old protagonist Lola Hart, and details Lola and her family's experiences in a near-future Manhattan in which violence, rising unemployment, and riots are commonplace in the city, as well as the rest of the United States.{{cite web| url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=NR&d_origin=transcripts&z=NR&p_theme=nr&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F574C9045937C46&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |last=Siegel |first=Robert |date=January 11, 1995| work=All Things Considered |title=REVIEW OF 'RANDOM ACTS OF SENSELESS VIOLENCE' |publisher=NPR |quote=HOST:New York City in the very near future is the setting for a new novel by science fiction writer, Jack Womack. The book is called Random Acts of Senseless Violence. It traces the evolution of a privileged, 12-year-old, Manhattan school girl from innocence to experience against the background of a crumbling city. Alan Cheuse has this review ALAN CHEUSE, Critic: Lola Hart [sp] attends Briarly, one of the poshest of Manhattan's private schools.}} As the novel progresses, Lola transforms from a student at one of Manhattan's most privileged private schools to a street-wise gangster as she and her family struggle to survive the despair of a crumbling government and economy.
Critical reception
The book did not attract significant attention on release; though there were a few reviews, it was not nominated for any awards even though Womack's previous work, Elvissey, won the prestigious Philip K. Dick Award and was shortlisted for the Locus Award. In a July 2008 article for Tor.com, Jo Walton decried the critical neglect of the work.{{Cite web |last=Walton |first=Jo |author-link=Jo Walton |accessdate=November 10, 2021 |url=https://www.tor.com/2008/07/25/randomacts/ |date=July 25, 2008 |work=Tor.com |title=Random Acts of Senseless Violence: Why isn't it a classic of the field?|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210212025840/https://www.tor.com/2008/07/25/randomacts/ |archive-date=February 12, 2021 }} Walton speculated that its lack of prominence was due to its initial low-key reception, the "singularly appalling" cover art of the early editions, a title that was "off-putting" and misleading, and its disconnect from the zeitgeist of the time, which was focused on cyberpunk and space opera. She was echoed by fellow science fiction author Cory Doctorow, who described the work as "an unflinching, engrossing, difficult coming-of-age story" and referred to it as "Womack's underappreciated masterpiece".{{cite web|url=http://www.boingboing.net/2008/07/25/jack-womacks-underap.html |work=Boing Boing |last=Doctorow |first=Cory |author-link=Cory Doctorow |title=Jack Womack's underappreciated masterpiece, "Random Acts of Senseless Violence" |date=July 25, 2008 |accessdate=September 30, 2008}} William Gibson described it as the book he thinks is most underrated.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/jan/01/william-gibson-i-read-naked-lunch-when-it-was-still-quasi-illicit|title=William Gibson: 'I read Naked Lunch when it was still quasi-illicit'|website=TheGuardian.com|date=January 2021}}
Publication history
- 1993, UK, HarperCollins, {{ISBN|0-246-13850-5}}, Pub date October 1993, Hardback
- 1994, US, Atlantic Monthly Press, {{ISBN|0-87113-577-9}}, Pub date September 1994, Hardback
- 1994, UK, HarperCollins, {{ISBN|0-586-21320-1}}, Pub date October 1994, Paperback
- 1995, US, Grove Press, {{ISBN|0-8021-3424-6}}, Pub date October 1995, Paperback
- 2013, UK, Gollancz, {{ISBN|978-0-575-13230-6}}, Pub date October 2013, Paperback
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Jack Womack}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Random Acts Of Senseless Violence}}
Category:Novels by Jack Womack
Category:1993 science fiction novels