Chain-Gang All-Stars – Nana Kwame Adiej-Brenvah

READ FOR BOOKCLUB
Chosen by Jo

Gladiators fight to the death to win their freedom In America’s private prisons. Loretta Thurwar and Hamara “Hurricane Staxxx” Stacker are the stars of Chain-Gang All-Stars, a televised, profit-making programme. This book is an exploration of the American prison system, asking what freedom really means.

Does disappearing one person from the earth clean it some? I seen men I knew were a danger to the world and they too deserve better than this. A shame for me to hope for better, but I know it’s better that can be done. Ain’t no magic potions for these bleeding human hearts. Ain’t no building full of hurt gonna save the masses.

● I read Chain-Gang All-Stars on my phone and missed all of the footnotes which other members of our bookclub said hindered the enjoyment and confused the nature of the story. So, I think I enjoyed it a whole lot more than the others! I usually enjoy dystopian novels and this did not disappoint. There were many characters to remember which may have diluted the power of the central ones, but its strength was the strange and contradictory idea to punish rapists and murderers by making them kill for their freedom. It was violent but easily readable and not as disturbing as I was led to believe. I enjoyed it. – Jo

● The intent of Chain-Gang All-Stars was fantastic – highlighting the brutality and inhumanity of the American prison system. I was able to feel sympathy for characters who had undertaken horrific crimes due to the maltreatment they were experiencing while incarcerated. There were unfortunately aspects that were distracting, for example the prolific footnotes, and overall this led me to feeling that what could have been a wonderful book was instead a fairly pedestrian one – Suzy

● I struggled a little with the construction of this novel. It jumped around from scene to scene which made it hard to follow sometimes. And the amount of new characters being introduced interrupted my flow of reading and made it hard to be invested in the true horror of the novel. I did enjoy the relationship between the two main characters, Thurwar and Staxx, and the inevitable doom that was constantly lurking. – Jodie

● I understand the author’s intent with this novel and appreciate him highlighting injustices about the American prison system. However, the presentation of these ideas has not made a huge impact on me. The gladiator storyline has been done before, it is overwritten in places and the footnotes (sometimes fact, sometimes fiction, sometimes three quarters of a page!) are an interruption to the narrative flow. The two main characters are distinct and are the glue that holds together the less impressive parts of the book. – Rachel

Published 2023
Pantheon
367 pages