If Beale Street Could Talk - James Baldwin

There's a terrifying sense of stillness woven into the pages of If Beale Street Could Talk. There is no momentum even as the characters change in ways that defy the inertia of the overall plot. You want, you beg, the story to move forward. To find out if Tish is able to save Fonny from a script that every person in the story seems to have already read.

You see, nineteen year old Tish is trying desperately to save her fiance Fonny from the legal system. A system that allowed, well encouraged, a policeman to frame and arrest Fonny for a brutal rape of a woman he'd never met. Fonny's real crime was standing up to this policeman on another day, at another time, in a way that stripped the policeman of his power. And when it comes down to it, the policeman remains intent on righting this "wrong" and showing Fonny who really has the power.

So a newly pregnant Tish must grapple with the hefty price, both emotionally and in cash money, of trying to free Fonny from the system. The gross injustice of his plight makes it no cheaper. The chance for a "speedy trial" ingrained in our constitution is not enough. The efforts of Tish's entire family are not enough. The fact that Tish's mother is willing to travel to Puerto Rico to visit the victim (a victim in many ways - including being used as a pawn against Fonny) isn't enough.

The ripple of injustice courses up and down the generations of both Tish and Fonny's families as we wait and wait and wait for anything to change the circumstances. We wait as Fonny waits, as time warps and seems to lose it's meaning.

Because the lack of pacing in the book, the utter stagnation, is the thing that makes this a very uncomfortable read but also is the essence of the book itself.

4/5 Stars.

I'll Fly Away: Further Testimonies from the Women of York Prison - Ed. Wally Lamb

I picked this Kindle version up when I saw something with Wally Lamb's name on it was only $1.99. I've loved Wally Lamb ever since reading I Know This Much is True in college. Given my surprise when I began reading and discovered it was not a book written by him, but a collection of stories from women incarcerated in York Prison in Connecticut, I was pleased to find I actually enjoyed much of the content of this collection. 

Lamb gives an excellent introduction for I'll Fly Away, delving into why the writing workshops performed in the prison were important and ultimately successful for many of the inmates. It was sad, but not ultimately surprising, to learn that the State of Connecticut sought to recoup money from the women who had made modest profits from having their work published. 

While the stories are deeply personal tales from the women themselves, all non-fiction reflections of their lives in and out of prison, the whole collection invokes broader themes of domestic abuse and violence, and the punitive v. rehabilitative aims of mass incarceration in America. Do we want those convicted to be punished for their crime, or do we as a society, benefit more from individuals being rehabilitated and unlikely to offend again? (Did I tip my hand with the way I asked that question?). There is something grossly dehumanizing about numbering and locking people away that I think does damage to both captive and jailer. That's not to say that some people are too violent and damaged in a way that means they should not ever be allowed in society again, but the way in which we house and incarcerate large swaths of our population should be examined. 

Hearing first hand accounts from these women help to keep them from being mere names and numbers in a sea of inmates, and hopefully helps show their human sides, our shared humanity after all, is a great equalizer.

3/5 Stars. 

Orange is the New Black - Piper Kerman

This book was all around excellent. I had heard of the TV show (I have eyeballs and access to the internet, so...) and was vaguely aware that it was based on a book. I'm glad I chose this one. There wasn't quite enough detail on her trial for the law nerd in me, but that's not the point of Orange is the New Black.

This very well done memoir of Piper Kerman, who follows her girlfriend to Indonesia in a slightly naive pursuit of "adventure" and ends up ferrying money for illicit drugs through US airports. She gets out of the game and moves on with her life but the incredibly slow wheels of the US justice system eventually catch up to her and she is sentenced to 15 months in federal prison. Due to some delays, she doesn't actually start her sentence until 10 years after her crimes. 

Sentenced to Danbury (sorry this was audio, I don't know how to spell anything) minimum security, Piper puts up with the monotony and doldrums that make up prison life. The hardest thing to deal with would definitely be the day to day nonsensical BS that comes with a large federal program. Piper seems to make friends along the way and serves her time without going too crazy.

This memoir is extremely well written and avoided cliches and hyperbole. It's not hard to guess why it has been so well received. 

5/5 Stars.