SOLVED. Dystopian / Sci Fi Novel about mistaken identity. [s]

[K.S.]

I took an "appreciation of science fiction" class in college back in the early 90's and am looking for one of the books that was covered. We studied a number of books written over several decades ("Frankenstein", "I, Robot", etc) so I do not know when the book was written/published.

There are two classes of people in the book an the main character is among the wealthy. The story starts off with him taking his girlfriend to a hotel where she is really excited because she can take a shower with water (apparently that is a luxury). The main character is wearing a ring made out of wood, a symbol of his status.

I don't remember how things progress but he loses his ID and is mistaken for a lower class citizen. I believe he is shipped off on a train to a work camp or mine or something.

That is all I remember. I would love to find a copy of this book and re-read it, if only to finally know the title. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[Andy]

I think you mean "The Space Merchants" by Fred Pohl The Space Merchants - a character has a ring made of oak (which is expensive and rare), showers are rare (people wash in salt water), and the hero is kidnapped and forced to work at a food production facility

[K.S.]

Thank you so much! I have been searching for this book for decades and you are the first person who recognized the story based on the few details I could remember.

[Andy]

Great! I'm very glad to help.