The first time I read this book, authored by Jimmy Lerner, I found it so riveting, that, upon finishing it, I immediately read it again! I am delighted to say that I had the same inclination when I read it this time, several years later, for purposes of this blog review. Jimmy Lerner was not a famous author when he penned this story; in fact, he had been employed by a telephone company for many years, prior to his writing this book. It began as a journal of sorts, designed to help him keep his sanity, as he served his time in prison, following his guilty plea for voluntary manslaughter.
The book chronicles the journey of the author, a divorced, middle-aged father of two, with no prior criminal record, who suddenly finds himself navigating through some very turbulent and unfamiliar waters, as a prison fish; a term used for inmates incarcerated for the very first time. Despite the fact that he is white and Jewish, he forges a surprising friendship with his cellmate "Kansas," the young leader of a white supremacist prison gang, and their relationship plays a significant role in his survival. He also befriends members of the black prison population as well, as he somehow manages to stay true to himself, often reflecting on his career at the phone company and his many training seminars, as he applies the strategies, quite humorously, to his life in prison.
This book has humor, but, also, moments of horror, as any honest book about prison life must have. The author's ability to capture it all, as he jumps back and forth between the language of prison life and the language of his own middle-class upbringing, lends an amazing aura of authenticity to his work. Definitely two thumbs up, for this fascinating narrative.
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