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The Prison Book Club

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
When Ann Walmsley was asked to take part in a book club in a men's prison, she was initially anxious: after a violent mugging a few years before, could she really cope being surrounded by violent criminals? Luckily, curiosity got the better of her, and she signed up for eighteen months of meetings with heavily tattooed inmates, talking about books ranging from The Grapes of Wrath to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. But this wasn't your typical book club – there was no wine and cheese, plush furniture or superficial chat about recent holidays. Classic works of fiction and non-fiction became springboards for frank discussions about loss, anger, redemption and loneliness, and for the men a prized oasis in which to regain a sense of humanity.

In this heart-warming example of the rehabilitative power of reading, follow Graham the biker, Frank the gunman, Ben and Dread the drug dealers, and the robber duo Gaston and Peter as they share ideas and reveal their life stories. The Prison Book Club is unlike anything you've read before.
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    • Publisher's Weekly

      January 18, 2016
      In 2011 and 2012, journalist Walmsley spent time in two Ontario prisons facilitating book clubs for inmates. This book is based on her experiences in the book clubs and the journals she asked several of the prisoners to keep about their reading, but it is also about Walmsley facing her own fears. She begins the book by recounting how she was traumatized by a violent mugging in London eight years before her friend Carol Finlay, who created and championed the book club program, asked her to be a part of it. It sets up an interesting tension within her account, but the split focus isn't entirely successful. Her initial descriptions of the men are based primarily on their crimes and personal appearance; their conversations help change her views. However, the overly dense text, which includes lengthy synopses of each book, is not as personal as a traditional memoir, and the tone is unclear at times. Sectioned book by book, Walmsley's recounting of the discussions needs to be more condensed and focused with more from the book club members and less of her own subjective paraphrasing and interpretations. Those factors make it a cumbersome read, but the story of the book clubs is nevertheless inspiring. Agent: Hilary McMahon, Westwood Creative Artists

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Languages

  • English

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