Brilliantly narrated by Shayna Small, Aaron Goodson, Michael Crouch, and Lee Osorio
🏆 LiteraryFifteen 2024 – Aspen Words 🏆
Did I get carried away and start reading for my reading challenge 2024 Literary Fifteen? Absolutely!
Aspen Words typically have those thought provoking opinionated reads that push your understanding, which is why I enjoy its longlist so much.
Chain-gang All-stars is set within the US privatised prison system and follows prisoners who fight in televised matches to the death in the hopes to gain freedom. I have been interested in Chain-gang All-stars for some time but admit that recent reviews discouraged me. I’m glad that Aspen Words brought me back to the book because my brain was bouncing back and forth while reading this. The book is definitely dark, it hurt reading this book – it is blatantly clear that this could happen, will happen, if we allow dehumanisation of each other. As such it is likely to be one of the most important books on 2024 Aspen Words and I expect it to make it to the shortlist and see it as a strong contender to win.
I read it as an audiobook which made the story and the characters come brilliantly alive. The voices in the audiobook are exquisite. The story was so vivid, infuriating and heart-breaking.
I was thinking about the different contexts that exist and who sets the rules. Who is excluded, included, allowed to be human? The connections between school, prison, work, criminal law, entertainment and sports, societal safety nets or lack thereof, racism, colonialism, slavery, health care, bias, sexism, bigotry and bright brilliant love that exists in spite of everything.
Through the book’s pain and darkness I’m strengthened in my belief that we must fight harder to stand up for each other and show more compassion, have hope and faith in each other.
Emilie's Bookish Thoughts 