Sci fi from 70's or early 80's where your status in society can be seen by the colour clothing you wear.

[Ann aka Iftcan]

My memories of this book are somewhat vague. There is some "other" group (could be from off-world, could be from a parallel world) where status is determined by the colour that you dress in--and wearing the "wrong" colour for your status is punishable by death. I believe that the people on Earth (or at any rate our "heroes") are fighting for their freedom from this group. (view spoiler)[One of the group is a blond who always wears Red, which doesn't match her complexion. It turns out that she is a spy for the "others" and that Red is the colour that the highest level of society of the "others" wear and she wants to be a member of that group. (hide spoiler)]
The spoiler listed is the main thing that I remember from this book. The book might have been from the 60's and I just read it in the 70's or very early 80's.

[Sue]

My first thought was 'Andra' by Louise Lawrence. The world is post-apocolypric, and everyone lives below-ground.
"It is 2000 years into the future and people on earth live in underground cities. Teenage Andra is recovering from a brain graft operation, and something very strange occurs. She begins to see the world from the viewpiont of the boy whose brain was used in tne operation – a boy who died in 1987. Andra feels frustrated by the rigid laws and narrow confines in Sub-city One. She rebels openly and becomes a symbol of freedom to the youth of the city. Together with Syrd, a young computer technician seeking asylum from the hostile country, Uralia, she stirs the young people into open rebellion. Will their quest for a more open and democratic society be a success? ...."

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Sue--sounds interesting, but that isn't it. Going by the GR posting on it, it's written MUCH too late. My book was definately written no later than about 1982 or 1983--or 1984 at the very latest. But I really believe that it was written in the late 60's or to mid 70's. It had kind of a "protest literature" vibe to it.

[Laina]

The spoiler doesn't match, but in Brave New World the different castes are assigned different colors as you describe. I don't think this is it, but I thought I'd throw it out there in case you have two books combined in your head, :) Good luck!

[Sue]

OK, but I read Andra in the late 60's/early 70's.

[Andria]

Andra was originally published in 1971.

[Ben]

sounds like logan's run. pub. 1967

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan...

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Ok, I have read both Brave New World AND Logan's Run and it is not either of those. And it's not Andra because I remember it being an entire group of people--and I believe that they were adults, not YA's.

[Kris]

The Wind Singer by William Nicholson, perhaps?

[Justanotherbiblophile]

I hadn't realized how pervasive color-coding in societies was in speculative-fiction literature.

Not a suggestion (red is lowest, not highest), but put in here for inclusiveness of future searches: any of the fiction based off the paranoia game. Which is all about killing off your clones, and moving up from Red to Ultraviolet.

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Kris--sorry, not that either. This was a sci-fi not fantasy book. I really DO wish I remembered more about it.

And Just--I know that there are a lot of books using colour as a device for showing your status in society. At the point in time where I read this book, I don't remember having seen another book--or movie--using the device. So it was probably one of the first books that used it.

[Ann aka Iftcan]

bump

[Bryan457]

Makes me think of Shades of Grey
From the bestselling author of Thursday Next—a brilliant new novel about a world where social order and destiny are dictated by the colors you can see

Part social satire, part romance, part revolutionary thriller, Shades of Grey tells of a battle against overwhelming odds. In a society where the ability to see the higher end of the color spectrum denotes a better social standing, Eddie Russet belongs to the low-level House of Red and can see his own color—but no other. The sky, the grass, and everything in between are all just shades of grey, and must be colorized by artificial means.

Eddie's world wasn't always like this. There's evidence of a never-discussed disaster and now, many years later, technology is poor, news sporadic, the notion of change abhorrent, and nighttime is terrifying: no one can see in the dark. Everyone abides by a bizarre regime of rules and regulations, a system of merits and demerits, where punishment can result in permanent expulsion.

Eddie, who works for the Color Control Agency, might well have lived out his rose-tinted life without a hitch. But that changes when he becomes smitten with Jane, a Grey Nightseer from the dark, unlit side of the village. She shows Eddie that all is not well with the world he thinks is just and good. Together, they engage in dangerous revolutionary talk.

Stunningly imaginative, very funny, tightly plotted, and with sly satirical digs at our own society, this novel is for those who loved Thursday Next but want to be transported somewhere equally wild, only darker; a world where the black and white of moral standpoints have been reduced to shades of grey.

But, published way too recently.

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Sorry Bryan457--that's a few decades too new to be my book. Thanks for the suggestion tho.

[bookel]

I'm probably not much help then, if it is adult fiction. You did rule out any of the books by H. M. Hoover (which are more young adult fiction)?

[Ann aka Iftcan]

At the time I read this it was considered Adult. With the way things change, it could well be considered YA now.

also I can find no author H. M. Hoover. Could you link something by him/her?

[bookel]

List of books by H. M. Hoover.

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Ok, going by the covers of those books--they look like they were ALWAYS meant to be kids/ya books. Mine was meant for an adult audience when it was written.

I just wish I could remember the title of this sucker. It's so annoying that I can't. Of course, the fact that my clearest memory of this book has to do with the colour red, is also annoying. Sigh, wish I could remember more about the book.

[Andy]

Can you remember anything at all of what the cover looked like? Or maybe a single name?

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Not a thing. And I think that the only reason I remember the red part is because my Dad was an artist and so colours were very important in our family. Well, that and the fact that it made a good bit of the fact that the red did NOT go with the "spy" character's colouring. I seem to remember them repeating this several times in the book.

I don't remember if the people the heroes were fighting were humanoid aliens, humans from an alternate Earth, the future, nothing.

[bookel]

Is it a Canadian or British or Australian book? (Noting the spelling of colouring, but it could very well be American if you get a lot of their books.)

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Unfortunately, that's another of those things I'm not sure of. I BELIEVE it to be American (despite my spelling, I live in the U.S.) but, well, let's hear it for the U. S. Navy and sending their people and families all over the world.

I've lived in 5 different countries, attended 14 different schools from K-12th grade and, in the U.S. lived in a total of 16 states. So it could even have been a regional book. You know, one that is popular in a particular region because the author is local, but not really well known outside of that region. I just know that I really wish I could find it again.

[Matt]

It seems kind of obvious to me and forgive me if someone else suggested it but in Brave New World, the different social strata wear different colors of clothing. Deltas wore black, I remember.

[Ann aka Iftcan]

It's not Brave New World. I remember that, and read this book at about the same time that I read Brave.

It's driving me buggy that I can't remember more--especially since I KNOW that the colour thing was only a minor point in the book.

[Ann aka Iftcan]

bump

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Well, here goes another bump.

[Suzette]

Handmaid's Tale by Atwood

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Sorry Suzette, that's not it. My story was a straight forward sci fi.

[Suzette]

The Handmaid's Tale is classified as sci fi. It takes place in the future. Where the USA has been replaced by at least two different countries, In what is described as a dystopian future.

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Ok, I've been to the Wiki page on Handmaid's and it doesn't mention anything at all about colours.

Plus, I don't remember the bad guys being a religious, pseudo-Christian group. They were definitely not from the world/Earth/dimension that the story was taking place in.

Like I said--I really do wish I remembered more about the story. I think it might have been something that I read for English class--I took 2 different semesters of Protest Literature while in school. And if it was that, then there is a strong possibility that the book was a U.K. writer. I remember reading it around the same time that I read Brave New World and I read that one for one of the Protest Lit classes.

It's just one of those nagging little things where I'm going, "Why can't I remember more?" But, I'll keep on bumping this up until someone finally IDs it for me.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

The women in Handmaid's Tale definitely wore different colors based on their role and status in society.

[Ann aka Iftcan]

In my book it wasn't just the women who wore the colours tho--everyone did.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

I can't remember if it was just the women, or everyone. I was just stating the bare minimum that I remembered about the colors.

[Suzette]

Lobstergirl wrote: "The women in Handmaid's Tale definitely wore different colors based on their role and status in society."
Very true.
The Society ladies wore blue.
Their daughters either by them or the Handmaids wore white till they became adults.
The Handmaids wore red.
The Marthas(cooks, scullery maids etc...) wore green

The men
Commanders wore black
Dont remember what the Eyes or the Angels wore
Guardians wore green.

I've not only read the book. I also saw the movie. and it was pretty close to the book.

[Ann aka Iftcan]

bump

[Michele]

I was going to go with Handmaid's Tale as well. The main character is blond, does wear red, and though I'm not sure she qualifies as an actual spy she is definitely rebellious against the dominant system and (view spoiler)[ends up escaping (hide spoiler)].

[Empress]

Michele wrote: "I was going to go with Handmaid's Tale as well. The main character is blond, does wear red, and though I'm not sure she qualifies as an actual spy she is definitely rebellious against the dominant..."

But red isn't the color the (view spoiler)[highest level of society of the "others" wears, and she doesn't want to be a member of that group. (hide spoiler)]

It does resemble some elements, but not entirely.

[Michele]

Yes, true...

Hope someone solves this, it sounds quite interesting.

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Making it even harder--there is at least a chance that this is an English book as opposed to a U.S. one, since I can't quite remember when I read it, and I attended an English school for a few years as a kid.

[Serendi]

In the doubtful but what the hey category: The Status Civilization by Robert Sheckley. It's a novella, available free various places including Project Gutenberg.

[Empress]

Serendi wrote: "In the doubtful but what the hey category: The Status Civilization by Robert Sheckley. It's a novella, available free various places including Project Gutenberg."

I have read it (listened to it), and is not the book. It's about a man that wakes up in a space ship, being sent to a prison planet. All the prisoners have their memory wiped.
The status is not color coded.

[Ann aka Iftcan]

bump

[Ann aka Iftcan]

bump

[Sabryna]

Idk what book it could be, surprisingly I've never read a book with the colour idea but when we figure out what book this is its going to be a must read for me!

[Cumbling Michael]

Just an aside comment. I don't know the name of the book, but the concept is definitely not fiction. In middle-ages Europe, there really were laws governing what clothes different social classes were allowed to wear. This also included the materials that could be worn, and their colours. In England, it was called "Sumptuary Law". Wikipedia has a good article here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumptuar...

Mike

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Back when I read this originally I had no idea about the Sumptuary Laws. But, after an European History class and learning about them, I wondered if the author of the book (whoever it was) was also somewhat of a historian.

[Andy]

I know it's not the book you're looking for but the Seventh Tower series has a colored cast system, although it's fantasy and uses colored gems mainly. I'll definitely keep an eye out for this book.

[Ann aka Iftcan]

bump

[MJ]

I've only seen the movie and I don't think it is a match, but just incase.

The Handmaid's Tale

[Ann aka Iftcan]

MJ--that's not it, sorry. But I'm starting to think I might have to read that anyway. It can join the rest of the TBR mountain range I have. (500 books on my Nook, another 300 on my Kindle and about 275 "dead tree" books. So I have a few TBR books. And the pile grows by the day. I swear those books are like rabbits--you turn your back on them for a minute and they go crazy reproducing.)