Working on the Chain Gang

You might just have to trust me on this quite left field recommendation this week. I think if someone explained this book to me, I would say “thanks but no thanks”. I had seen a few recommendations of this book doing the rounds on social media and in usual me style, added it to my TBR without any investigation and then reserved it from the library. Even when it was my turn to borrow this book, and I picked it up, I didn’t really want to read it because I didn’t like the cover. It may well be that I am not the target demographic for this book, but in any event, I loved it, despite the odds.

This week we take a look at Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah - an unlikely five-star read.

Before we get into my yarn about the book, here is the Good Reads synopsis:

“Two top women gladiators fight for their freedom within a depraved private prison system not so far-removed from America's own.

Loretta Thurwar and Hamara "Hurricane Staxxx" Stacker are the stars of Chain-Gang All-Stars, the cornerstone of CAPE, or Criminal Action Penal Entertainment, a highly-popular, highly-controversial, profit-raising program in America's increasingly dominant private prison industry. It's the return of the gladiators and prisoners are competing for the ultimate prize: their freedom.

In CAPE, prisoners travel as Links in Chain-Gangs, competing in death-matches for packed arenas with righteous protestors at the gates. Thurwar and Staxxx, both teammates and lovers, are the fan favorites. And if all goes well, Thurwar will be free in just a few matches, a fact she carries as heavily as her lethal hammer. As she prepares to leave her fellow Links, she considers how she might help preserve their humanity, in defiance of these so-called games, but CAPE's corporate owners will stop at nothing to protect their status quo and the obstacles they lay in Thurwar's path have devastating consequences.

Moving from the Links in the field to the protestors to the CAPE employees and beyond, Chain-Gang All-Stars is a kaleidoscopic, excoriating look at the American prison system's unholy alliance of systemic racism, unchecked capitalism, and mass incarceration, and a clear-eyed reckoning with what freedom in this country really means.”

Would you read this book based on that explanation? I sometimes like dystopian books, and I NEVER like books with violence. But I do like books that make me think and that address societal issues, especially when it is done in a clever way like with this book.

From the beginning, I was grabbed by the characters and the harsh realities they face. Set in a dystopian future, it follows a group of convicts, each with their own unique backstory, who are forced to compete in deadly games for public entertainment. I think the author does a brilliant job of painting a world that's both frightening and intriguing, and I think this is largely to do with the character development.

You get to see their struggles, hopes, and fears, making them relatable and human, despite their criminal backgrounds. The dynamic between the characters is equally as fascinating as they form unlikely alliances and friendships, showing that there's more to someone than their worst mistake.

There are parts of the book which are quite violent, and I must admit that I did skim over those parts as I really don’t like reading violent scenes (I am the same with movies – no blood and gore thank you!) I think this is something to be aware of if, like me, you are sensitive to such content – and perhaps helpful to know you can skim over it and still love the book?

Once I was into this book, I was hooked. It made me question things like why people commit crimes; the impact of the prison system on those within it; the corrupting influence of power; voyeurism; the commodification of everything.. the list goes on. I think this would make an excellent book club read as there is so much to unpack with this one.

Chain Gang All Stars is a gripping read that will challenge you to question the society we live in. If you love dystopian fiction, this is definitely the book for you. If you love books that challenge you, this is the book for you. Or if you want to step outside of your comfort zone and mix things up, this is also the book for you, because life is too short to read bad books.