| Vendor | |
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Liepman Literary Agency
Marc Koralnik |
| Original language | |
| English | |
THE PRISON BOOK CLUB
A daring journalist goes behind bars to explore the redemptive power of books.
An attack in London left Ann Walmsley unable to walk alone down the street and shook her belief in the fundamental goodness of people. In Canada a few years later, when her friend Carol asked her to participate in a bold new venture in a men's medium security prison, Ann had to weigh her curiosity and desire to be of service with her anxiety and fear.
But she signed on, and for eighteen months went to a remote building at Collins Bay, meeting a group of heavily tattooed book club members without the presence of guards or security cameras. There was no wine and cheese, plush furnishings, or superficial chat about jobs or recent vacations. But a book club on the inside proved to be a place to share ideas, learn about each other, and regain humanity.
THE PRISON BOOK CLUB follows Ann as she volunteers in a book club with inmates behind bars. The narrative focuses on six imprisoned book club members who kept journals and participated in candid one-on-one conversations. Graham the biker, Frank the gunman, Ben and Dread the Jamaicans, and the robber duo Gaston and Peter come to life as Ann reconciles her knowledge of their crimes with the individuals. For the men, the books were rare prized possessions, and the meetings an oasis of safety and a respite from isolation. Having been judged themselves, they were quick to make judgments about the books they read. As they discussed the obstacles the characters faced, they revealed glimpses of their own struggles that were devastating and comic. From "The Grapes of Wrath" to "The Cellist of Sarajevo", "Outliers to Infidel", the discussions became a springboard for frank conversations about loss, anger, redemption, heroism, and loneliness.
The books changed the men and the men changed Ann, allowing her to move beyond her position as a victim.
ANN WALMSLEY is a magazine journalist whose work has appeared in The Globe and Mail and Maclean's. She is the recipient of four National Magazine Awards, a Canadian Business Journalism Award and two International Regional Magazine Awards. She founded her first book club at age nine.
But she signed on, and for eighteen months went to a remote building at Collins Bay, meeting a group of heavily tattooed book club members without the presence of guards or security cameras. There was no wine and cheese, plush furnishings, or superficial chat about jobs or recent vacations. But a book club on the inside proved to be a place to share ideas, learn about each other, and regain humanity.
THE PRISON BOOK CLUB follows Ann as she volunteers in a book club with inmates behind bars. The narrative focuses on six imprisoned book club members who kept journals and participated in candid one-on-one conversations. Graham the biker, Frank the gunman, Ben and Dread the Jamaicans, and the robber duo Gaston and Peter come to life as Ann reconciles her knowledge of their crimes with the individuals. For the men, the books were rare prized possessions, and the meetings an oasis of safety and a respite from isolation. Having been judged themselves, they were quick to make judgments about the books they read. As they discussed the obstacles the characters faced, they revealed glimpses of their own struggles that were devastating and comic. From "The Grapes of Wrath" to "The Cellist of Sarajevo", "Outliers to Infidel", the discussions became a springboard for frank conversations about loss, anger, redemption, heroism, and loneliness.
The books changed the men and the men changed Ann, allowing her to move beyond her position as a victim.
ANN WALMSLEY is a magazine journalist whose work has appeared in The Globe and Mail and Maclean's. She is the recipient of four National Magazine Awards, a Canadian Business Journalism Award and two International Regional Magazine Awards. She founded her first book club at age nine.
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Book
Published 2015-09-01 by Viking Penguin Canada |