Review: UNNERVING, HARROWING, AND UNFORGIVING PORTRAYAL
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 6, 2014
It intrigues me that JF Smith would turn his remarkable talents to this particular subject, in light of all of his previous novels. It just doesn't quite fit in to my preconceived image of what he would write. I'm not saying that it is really all that dissimilar with what he's written in the past. Though, in this case, there is a very fine line between who the good and bad characters really are.I've never read a book involving prison life prior to this, and I did it exclusively because of my respect for the author. Quite frankly, it is a frightening experience to imagine life in a correctional facility. I mean, I understand what the dynamics of daily life are like, but it remains an unsettling subject with me.Jack Carber is an con artist who is betrayed by his fellow cohorts and ends up getting a three year prison sentence in a mid-level correctional institution. The previous crimes that he's committed have all been his way of seeking revenge on the insurance companies that he feels are responsible for the deaths of his parents. Unfortunately, this time he got caught. To make the crime worse, a gun was placed in the trunk of the car he's driving.He ends up in a cell with a convict named Adder. Adder never speaks. To anyone. He's violent and unpredictable.Add to this, the daily life involving rival gangs, forced sex and extreme brutality, and you might see why this novel is unsettling.But there are random acts of humanity that occur in this terrible place. And Jack, being a con man, manages to barely survive. He also finds a way past Adder's defenses to find, buried deep inside, a loving human being with his own demons, regrets, and personal losses.JF Smith manages to bring all of this together and make meaning and redemption out of the horror. Personally, I can't say that I want to read this again. Unlike his previous books which bear up on continued re-reads, once through this might be enough for me.  It isn't that I didn't like it. His formula for construction is easily found here. His prose is exceptional. The finished product is perfectly edited, reflecting all of his previous work.It's a difficult subject, intimately showing prison and prisoners and the utter hopelessness that they experience. I've seen the bus arrive at intake, seen the vacant stares on the faces of the young men arriving at state prisons. I have seen the day rooms where the guards are ever present, and the staff in the control facility overlooking it all. I know the odors, the food and the interaction between the staff and the inmates. And for those who haven't experienced it, it is terrifying. My firm was involved in design and construction of several state facilities. I made many visits after completion and got to see it all. It is what nightmares come from. Every visit involved a level of fear in me, always there, barely controlled.Is this novel real. Yes. The people are real. The situations are real. And as bad as it got, there was always the hope for a reasonably satisfying conclusion. I was not disappointed. Neither should you.