Testing

by Charles Oberndorf

In a bankrupted world where moral purity is the measure of success, Karl knows that the authorities will find out about his one illicit adventure in a tawdry brothel when they strap him into the dream chair

Genres: Science Fiction

135 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 1, 1993

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read but also thought-provoking. A near future in which morality is given a standardized testing treatment. Our protagonist is a teen boy made to feel guilty about an action he didn't take. Like all good science fiction, this book has probably only grown in relevancy since its publication in 1993.

[Des · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mild near future dystopia. What if they could measure, test, and quantify your moral character?

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short novel opens a bit opaquely, with a slew of neologisms to ground you in a near-future world where American society is subtly changed.

I picked up a copy of this book because it was short, and I know Charlie, and I really like his writing. Also it gave me something for my husband to read. He likes clear prose, stories about character, not events, and hasn't the attention span for long novels. This is the perfect book for him.

There are many allusions to Crime and Punishment, which the main character is reading as he goes through his life-altering senior year of high school, and it seems deliberate that like Raskolnikov he finds himself desperate to admit his guilt to those around him, though in Karl's case his guilt is over a crime he has not committed, and his moral quandary is one of the most delightfully complex I've read about in a while.

[Barbara S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting novella about the consequences of institutionalizing morality.