The Mars Room

Killing your stalker: Cold-blooded murder or self-defense? Romy Hall has been sentenced to two consecutive life-sentences for ending the life of a man whose obsession with her had grown exceedingly troublesome. She could have accepted the consequences, if she didn't have a son to think of. But with her behind bars and noone to ... weiterlesen Killing your stalker: Cold-blooded murder or self-defense? Romy Hall has been sentenced to two consecutive life-sentences for ending the life of a man whose obsession with her had grown exceedingly troublesome. She could have accepted the consequences, if she didn't have a son to think of. But with her behind bars and noone to care for him, she's determined to get out of there. Most of my knowledge about prisons comes from watching shows like "Orange is the New Black" and "Prison Break". So, going into "The Mars Room", I expected it to be something along those lines. But it isn't at all and that's by no means a bad thing. I think it's great that Kushner goes into a different direction here, but I still could not quite get into the story. To me, the book felt all over the place at times and I didn't connect with the characters at all. I don't know if it was her intention to alienate the readers from the characters, but that's what happened in my case. I like that the book is told from multiple points of view, but there's one narrator who has no connection to any of the other characters (that I picked up on) at all, which I found quite confusing. I did enjoy the ending, however. I am kind of on the fence about "The Mars Room". To me, neither the story nor the characters were outstanding, but just okay. However, reading this you inevitably have to think about what's right and wrong, how the system deals with criminals and if the sentences are always justified. And that's what I enjoyed - I just love it, when a book is thought-provoking and forces me to ponder things that I usually don't have a reason to think about. weniger

Stanville Women’s Correctional Facility is Romy Hall’s new home, convicted to life sentence. What brought the mother of a young boy to this institution? And how can she cope with the rules that life in prison follows? Romy Hall remembers her life outside, her addiction and most of all The Mars Room where she stripped for a livin... weiterlesen Stanville Women’s Correctional Facility is Romy Hall’s new home, convicted to life sentence. What brought the mother of a young boy to this institution? And how can she cope with the rules that life in prison follows? Romy Hall remembers her life outside, her addiction and most of all The Mars Room where she stripped for a living. This is also where she met the man who was to change her life. Now, her life only consists of surviving, not getting in the way of the leaders or staff who have their own laws behind the bars. Life inside mirrors the outside, there are ruling classes and those ruled. And sometimes both spheres interact – often not for the better. Rachel Kushner paints a blunt picture of life inside a prison. The idea of such a place as somewhere you can become a better person and atone for your wrongdoings is far from what she describes. It is a constant struggle of surviving and of adapting to the unwritten laws. Life is a series of disappointments, visitors who never come, news which do not reach you. And outside, there isn’t much waiting for you either. It wasn’t that easy for me to sympathise with the protagonist Romy. This might be due to her role; even though she is inside, she remains an observer somehow. At the same time, there is so much unsaid about her that makes it difficult to form a whole picture of her. The fact that the reason for her imprisonment isn’t given immediately, on the other hand, adds to the underlying suspense of the novel. Slowly you get closer to the culminating point which reveals what happened. Additionally, the other characters are, obviously, those at the margins of society, people you wouldn’t actually socialise with and which sometimes repel you as a reader. What I really liked is Kushner’s style of writing. The protagonist’s narration flows like a stream of consciousness which makes it quite realistic and lively. Furthermore, she often hints at what is to come without saying too much, just enough to arouse your interest. When Romy talks about her life and most of all about her future, she is quite direct – well, there isn’t much reason to embellish anything and therefore, her words sound absolutely authentic. weniger