loregess reviewed on 6/10/2014 + 175 more book reviews

For a while now I've been feeling like the only person on the planet that has not seen the show, so I thought I should start off with the book (because the book is usually 90% always better than the the TV show or movie adaptation).

I enjoyed Kerman's approach in telling her story. It wasn't in a voice to be pitied, it was just a straight up account of her experiences -- especially at her surprise of treatment among the classes (even behind bars). Kerman didn't live a privileged life behind bars, but her nice blonde hair and college education got her farther than most. I am sure that Kerman's incarceration was a lot more hellish than it seems in print, but it is the descriptions of her fellow inmates that took me aback. What really shocks me is how random the judicial system seems to be - the punishments,for the most part, do not fit the crimes. Those that committed serious offenses have more lenient sentences than those that don't seem like big deals at all. Go figure. At any rate, I'm not as interested in Kerman as I am in her fellow inmates and her fiancee, so I hope my favorite characters in the book play major roles in the show.

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