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A review by jhbandcats
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A devastating diatribe against the US prison system, this book uses violence to show the misery of the incarcerated. It’s shocking and eye-opening and one of the hardest books I’ve read this year. The suffering is almost unrelenting, the rare delicious meal or soft bed breaking up the monotony of the characters’s wretched existence.
The character development is focused on the now - very little attention is given to the lives the people had before they entered the killing-as-entertainment program. We learn just enough to know that these are not the same people who earlier committed murder, rape, and arson. The irony is that they’re now being told to kill, and to do it in a spectacular manner to make the games masters and the promoters as rich as possible.
As pointed out in an interview Mari gives, there’s no good solution to the problem of incarcerating so many people. But clearly the current situation isn’t working and there needs to be change.
The character development is focused on the now - very little attention is given to the lives the people had before they entered the killing-as-entertainment program. We learn just enough to know that these are not the same people who earlier committed murder, rape, and arson. The irony is that they’re now being told to kill, and to do it in a spectacular manner to make the games masters and the promoters as rich as possible.
As pointed out in an interview Mari gives, there’s no good solution to the problem of incarcerating so many people. But clearly the current situation isn’t working and there needs to be change.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail