Two-time National Book Award finalist Rachel Kushner’s new book, “The Mars Room” tells the story of Romy Hall who was serving two consecutive life sentences plus six years at the Stanville Women’s Correction Facility in California’s Central Valley.
Roxanne says that the book “informs our understanding of prison life in a woman’s correctional facility in thrilling and ironic detail” and “helps us ponder a society that gives rise to these inevitabilities, disappointments, and injustices.”
Also in this episode, we welcome back Lissa Muscatine, the owner of Politics & Prose in Washington DC for our segment “What’s on The Front Table.”
Books in this episode:
The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
To purchase any of the books recommended by Lissa Muscatine, just go to Politics & Prose.
Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin
Beneath a Ruthless Sun: A True Story of Violence, Race, and Justice Lost and Found by Gilbert King
Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America by James Forman
Fascism: A Warning by Madeleine Albright
Make Trouble by Cecile Richards
Something Wonderful by Todd S. Purdum
The Wine Lover’s Daughter: A Memoir by Anne Fadiman
Lab Girl by Hope Jahren
Happiness: A Novel by Aminatta Forma
Losing Mum and Pup: A Memoir by Christopher Buckley
Sharp by Michelle Dean
Educated by Tara Westover
Lessons From Lucy: The Simple Joys of an Old, Happy Dog by Dave Barry
The President Is Missing: A Novel by James Patterson and Bill Clinton
There Will Be No Miracles Here: A Memoir by Casey Gerald
The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro
