A hauntingly sharp, splendid read. Keep an eye on this author.

What a surprising and strange novel. I was expecting less, but this was interesting. It seemed part fantasy, part romance, part memoir. The narrative style made it hard to tell what was real and who was who until the very end- I guessed most of it but was still charmed by the odd style.
In some parts, the suspense was almost too much for the audio book, although contrived (as is much of the narrative).

Not as interesting or deep as "Look at Me".

The Keep – cousins prisoners eastern_Europe
Claustrophobic paranoia, intentionally mediocre writing and a transparent gimmick dominate this novel centered on estranged cousins who reunite in Eastern Europe. Danny, a 36-year-old New York hipster who wears brown lipstick (and whose body can detect Wi-Fi availability), accepts his wealthy cousin Howard's invitation to come to Eastern Europe and help fix up the castle Howard plans on turning into a luxury Luddite hotel (check your cell at the door). In doing so, Danny can't help recalling the childhood prank he played on a young Howie that left the awkward adolescent nearly dead—or so writes Ray, the druggie inmate who's penning this novel-within-a-novel for his prison writing workshop.

Subsequent chapters alternate between Danny's fantastical castle travails (it's home to a caustic baroness bent on preserving her family seat) and Ray's prison drama. There are funny asides and trappings (particularly digital technology) along the way, and the sendup of castle narratives generates some chuckles. But the connection between the two narratives, which Egan reveals in intentionally tawdry fashion, feels telegraphed from the first chapter, making for a frustrating read.

Quite literally a day in the life of Ivan, better known as Shukhov, a prisoner in a work camp during WWII.

I guess, culturally, this is a very good read, but for me it didn't hold much in the entertainment department. However, it is a really easy read, so it wasn't painful.

Brendan Behan, the dramatist, poet, novelist and member of the Irish Republican Army, shares his experiences as a youth who was sentenced to a Borstal (reform school). The IRA occasionally used youths to carry out some of their plans, and Behan was caught after being in possession of explosives that were to be used for the IRA S-bombing campaign. He is first sent to a prison where he awaits his sentence, and he meets a London youth named Charlie who will eventually be his "china" (closest pal) throughout his incarceration. Through his tales of his imprisonment, we learn a great deal about the boy that Behan was, and honestly other than a couple of fights, his experience isn't particualrly harrowing. What we do see is that Behan had an amazing ability to adapt and to dominate any room he was in. It's clear that even as a youth, he had a talent for writing (he won an essay contest at the Borstal and never had a doubt but that he would) and his appetite for books is insatiable. The book is a straightforward, thoroughly readable piece of work.

A faithful wife waits some 30 years for her husband to be released from jail for killing an old woman. Pregnant when he goes to prison, she raises their son by herself while driving hours every weekend to visit him as he's moved around the state.
It made me had a bit more sympathy for people caught in the prison system, but I had a hard time feeling sympathy for the characters. They're kind of white trash, and he did murder an old woman (or was an accomplice) and I certainly wouldn't have stayed with my husband. I'm glad it had a happier ending, though.

Written by Canada's foremost expert on the Canadian federal prison system, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in what happens once the courtroom battle has finished. All law students interested in criminal law should read this book. A mixture of both historical, academic, and anecdotal evidence gives a full picture of what goes on 'behind the walls'.