Name: Lennox Johnson 's review of The Outrage by William Hussey
Item: The Outrage
Rating: 5
Author: Lennox Johnson

William Hussey

"You know, when you live in a time of progress, it seems that progress is the only possible way. The idea that everything we'd gained, all of those hard-won rights, could be taken away from us, and that open minds could be closed again? But then the Outrage happened." Welcome to England, where the Protectorate enforces the Public Good. Here, there are rules for everything - what to eat, what to wear, what to do, what to say, what to read, what to think, who to obey, who to hate, who to love. Your safety is assured, so long as you follow the rules. Gabriel is a natural born rule-breaker. And his biggest crime of all? Being gay. Gabriel knows his sexuality must be kept secret from all but his closest friends, not only to protect himself, but to protect his boyfriend. Because Eric isn't just the boy who has stolen Gabriel's heart. He's the son of the chief inspector at Degenerate Investigations - the man who poses the single biggest threat to Gabriel's life. And the Protectorate are experts at exposing secrets.

The Outrage

Abigail Huggan

Lennox Johnson 

You know what’s a brilliant idea? Reading The Outrage when you’re coming out of a bad bout of gender dysphoria. As if I wasn’t already feeling raw and miserable enough. I have some real class ideas, lemme tell ya. BWAHAHAHAHA!

I would say that I finished this book in one setting, but I did need to put it down to have dinner [which I had trouble stomaching, because I was so upset], so… not entirely accurate. Just about one sitting, then. 

This book is positively HORRIFYING, infuriating, heartbreaking, and hopeful all at once… and at some particular points even personally validating [for me, anyway]. 

To be honest, there’s a tiny part of me that wishes I’d never heard of this book. It truly was that gut-wrenchingly painful to read. My husband even asked me if I was okay, because I apparently looked very distressed. There was just enough hope, at just the right places, though, to keep me going. That’s also the feeling you are left with, at the end of it all: hope. 

This story TORE. ME. APART. but was then kind enough to put me back together again. Definitely one of the books I intend to encourage my children to read when they're old enough. I daresay this wouldn’t be amiss on any high school English curriculum, as one of the token dystopias they have students read. More relevant these days than Brave New World, I wager.

[Do high school kids even still read Brave New World and 1984? Was that just an AP English thing? I don’t even know…] 

Just an aside: I love that Susana Kaysen’s Girl, Interrupted was tossed in as a reference.

Abigail Huggan &
The Outrage by William Hussey

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Abigail Huggan &The Outrage by William Hussey

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Abigail Huggan &
The Outrage by William Hussey