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damiensaur's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
nicolec5's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
drtamikamichelle's review
challenging
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.75
SO CLOSE TO BEING REAL THAT IT’S INSANE
This is just what I NEEDED!
Every once and a while you come across a book that makes you think, makes you wonder, and makes you question your own beliefs about how you feel about specific atrocities, and for me Chain- Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah is one of those books. This is a brilliantly written piece of work. The best components of this book were the multiple points of view, the footnotes, the narration in the audiobook version and the character development throughout the book.
Through the lens of a brutal live on pay per view television type of blood sport, 'Chain-Gang All-Stars' offers a seriously realistic critique of our flawed U.S. prison system and our cultural obsession with violence. In the fictional dystopian reality of this book, the author weaves several characters and points of views together to craft this amazing story.
I have read some reviews which have found the incorporation of multiple points of view hard to follow in this book, but I loved this aspect of the author’s writing. The fact that such a needed topic could be told from the points of view of so many different characters was amazing. It forced the reader to look at the story from multiple lenses and really evaluate your own beliefs, ethics, and feelings about our current racist and inhumane penal and prison systems.
In this book you get to understand the points of view of the following:
• convicts-turned-gladiators
• viewers
• protesters
• Television Anchors/Executives
• Abolitionists
• Prison officials/employees
The footnote system in the physical and audio copies of this book was beyond genius. The way this author uses real statistics and verbiage from actual U.S. documents is brilliant. It reminds us that this was a fictional depiction of the very real ills of our current society. I felt this book was so close to something that really could happen in our Prison system and our world because it already has and still is happening in so many other ways. It's intriguing how the story delves into commentary on the flaws of the prison system and our fascination with violent entertainment, highlighting the ethical dilemmas and moral decay that could accompany such a scenario.
Imagine committing a crime and being sentenced to 25 years to life but being given the opportunity to join a program called the CAPE Program where you must kill or be killed as you move up the ranks toward your freedom. The more you murder the closer you get to being ‘High-Free’. Well, that’s what you will get in this book. In this book private prison systems have collaborated with tv executives to create a live action sport gladiator-like sport in which convicted criminals fight each other to the death.
Season after season, people watch this murder mentality and get so enthralled in the characters’ lives, that they tend to forget how inhumane it really is. This book makes you ask yourself so many questions, such as:
• Would I actually watch this?
• Am I a true abolitionist?
• Do I believe because they are criminals they should die anyway?
• Do I believe this form of slavery is beyond what America is capable of?
This book was fast paced and written so seamlessly it felt like I was watching a movie. It definitely kept my attention, and I did not want to get to the end.
This book was incredibly impactful and will change how I view the prison industrial complex forever. This book will stay with me for a very long time. I was blown away by this book. What sets "Chain-Gang All-Stars" apart is its ability to provoke introspection and spark conversations about the ethical implications of our fascination with violence and the treatment of those deemed as society's outcasts.
“I’m saying that the death penalty has always been an abomination, even before the CAPE program. Prison as it exists is an abomination. Right now, the fact is, people are doing the exact kinds of harm you’re describing. Prisons haven’t deterred the harm they’re meant to deter. They’re a failed experiment.”
“Some truly didn’t think about the fact that men and women were being murdered every day by the same government
This is just what I NEEDED!
Every once and a while you come across a book that makes you think, makes you wonder, and makes you question your own beliefs about how you feel about specific atrocities, and for me Chain- Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah is one of those books. This is a brilliantly written piece of work. The best components of this book were the multiple points of view, the footnotes, the narration in the audiobook version and the character development throughout the book.
Through the lens of a brutal live on pay per view television type of blood sport, 'Chain-Gang All-Stars' offers a seriously realistic critique of our flawed U.S. prison system and our cultural obsession with violence. In the fictional dystopian reality of this book, the author weaves several characters and points of views together to craft this amazing story.
I have read some reviews which have found the incorporation of multiple points of view hard to follow in this book, but I loved this aspect of the author’s writing. The fact that such a needed topic could be told from the points of view of so many different characters was amazing. It forced the reader to look at the story from multiple lenses and really evaluate your own beliefs, ethics, and feelings about our current racist and inhumane penal and prison systems.
In this book you get to understand the points of view of the following:
• convicts-turned-gladiators
• viewers
• protesters
• Television Anchors/Executives
• Abolitionists
• Prison officials/employees
The footnote system in the physical and audio copies of this book was beyond genius. The way this author uses real statistics and verbiage from actual U.S. documents is brilliant. It reminds us that this was a fictional depiction of the very real ills of our current society. I felt this book was so close to something that really could happen in our Prison system and our world because it already has and still is happening in so many other ways. It's intriguing how the story delves into commentary on the flaws of the prison system and our fascination with violent entertainment, highlighting the ethical dilemmas and moral decay that could accompany such a scenario.
Imagine committing a crime and being sentenced to 25 years to life but being given the opportunity to join a program called the CAPE Program where you must kill or be killed as you move up the ranks toward your freedom. The more you murder the closer you get to being ‘High-Free’. Well, that’s what you will get in this book. In this book private prison systems have collaborated with tv executives to create a live action sport gladiator-like sport in which convicted criminals fight each other to the death.
Season after season, people watch this murder mentality and get so enthralled in the characters’ lives, that they tend to forget how inhumane it really is. This book makes you ask yourself so many questions, such as:
• Would I actually watch this?
• Am I a true abolitionist?
• Do I believe because they are criminals they should die anyway?
• Do I believe this form of slavery is beyond what America is capable of?
This book was fast paced and written so seamlessly it felt like I was watching a movie. It definitely kept my attention, and I did not want to get to the end.
This book was incredibly impactful and will change how I view the prison industrial complex forever. This book will stay with me for a very long time. I was blown away by this book. What sets "Chain-Gang All-Stars" apart is its ability to provoke introspection and spark conversations about the ethical implications of our fascination with violence and the treatment of those deemed as society's outcasts.
“I’m saying that the death penalty has always been an abomination, even before the CAPE program. Prison as it exists is an abomination. Right now, the fact is, people are doing the exact kinds of harm you’re describing. Prisons haven’t deterred the harm they’re meant to deter. They’re a failed experiment.”
“Some truly didn’t think about the fact that men and women were being murdered every day by the same government
bridgetlovesbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
natbee's review
adventurous
challenging
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Challenging but interesting... Disturbing and thrilling.
maggieperrien's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book is so complicated. But it is so well done. The anuthor has satirized a world where death-row prisoners battle to the death to eventually be freed as Links in a Chang-Gang. And in this world the carceral system is making even more money off of inmates as they have monetized the sport, the related reality TV shows and the Links (the contestants) have sponsorships.
This book shows the very worst that is possible from humans when we stop seeing the humanity in each other. But it does so is such a thought provoking way. The Links are all murders and/or rapists - they have done bad things but then have the opportunity to be immortalized as heros in the blood-sport matches. The book’s chapters change character POV from Links, prison owners, prisoners families, even fans - this makes the book interesting and allows the reader a varied perspective as they have to decide what is good and bad.
This is a hard read, there is violence and it’s a grim look at the human condition but also interspersed are footnotes of real carceral system facts which makes this book so important and so sad. Although it was a tough read I still highly recommend.
This book shows the very worst that is possible from humans when we stop seeing the humanity in each other. But it does so is such a thought provoking way. The Links are all murders and/or rapists - they have done bad things but then have the opportunity to be immortalized as heros in the blood-sport matches. The book’s chapters change character POV from Links, prison owners, prisoners families, even fans - this makes the book interesting and allows the reader a varied perspective as they have to decide what is good and bad.
This is a hard read, there is violence and it’s a grim look at the human condition but also interspersed are footnotes of real carceral system facts which makes this book so important and so sad. Although it was a tough read I still highly recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, Police brutality, Torture, and Slavery
ehwhateverest's review against another edition
I think I would appreciate this writing better in physical book form.
hilary_weckstein's review against another edition
5.0
This was really a unique way to examine the prison industrial complex, racist infrastructure, and our obsession with reality tv and violence. Once I got into it I couldn’t put it down. I enjoyed the poetic writing style too. 4.5 stars