A review by cubaitlubin
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

She was almost at her three years. The average life expectancy for today’s Links was about three months, but many didn’t make it past their third week. In less time than that, if she survived, Thurwar would be freed into the population, her crimes absolved in blood.

This is an impactful read - in a world where incarcerated individuals fight death matches to earn freedom, the implications surrounding that (capitalism, protests, police states, etc), and of course the characters directly involved. Part sci-fi, part dystopian fiction, huge part social/racial commentary, all written with such literary sensitivity and creativity. So many names and perspectives - I would love and hate to see this play out in a dramatic series to follow the characters and their growth even deeper. Singer's chapters were pure poetry. The use of footnotes as literary devices and historical/statistical context added compelling depth. The truth is not so far from dystopia as it may seem. There is so much to keep thinking about here and is definitely.

Where life is precious, life is precious.
And surely that’s not here. Type of courage most ain’t lucky enough to see. It’s a full crowd that seen it. And it’s more protesting outside the arena than cheering in. Maybe something right coming, maybe we’ll see something different, but for now, we forget all that ain’t the ladies’ death.