Bookin’ in the Big House: What I Learned Leading a Women’s Prison Book Club

Novelist Devoto (The Team) recalls seven years of running a book club in an Alabama women’s prison in this eye-opening memoir. Devoto’s initial goal was to “go into the facility once a month, teach a class about a particular book or author, and hopefully bring some relaxation and new knowledge to the women incarcerated there.” She soon realized, however, that her vision of jumping straight into discussions about prose style were unrealistic, and she focused instead on learning what put the women behind bars. Ms. Foley, who “looks like somebody’s grandmother, wisps of gray hair held back by wire-rimmed glasses,” was incarcerated for killing her abusive ex-husband; Val, the prison librarian, hit a woman while driving drunk. As the book club turned to discussions of high school standards like To Kill a Mockingbird and more complex fare including Middlesex, Devoto faced resistance from prison staff who arbitrarily barred her from bringing in certain books, magazines, and snacks. Her persistence, and her insistence on viewing club members as more than the worst thing they’d ever done, offers inspiration as well as a quiet critique of the U.S. carceral system. Readers will be moved. (Mar.)