Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
**4.5-stars rounded up*
Honestly, I had never ever heard of Chain-Gang All-Stars until early this year when I was watching numerous BookTuber’s ‘Best Books of 2024’ videos.
This novel popped up on numerous lists and each person who spoke about it talked with such passion, and it sounded genuinely like something I would be interested in. My interest was piqued.
I ended out checking out the audiobook from my library and cannot recommend that format enough. The narrative structure is a little unconventional, and I felt the various narrators helped me to keep everything straight.
So, if you are unaware of what this book is, it’s basically a near-future dystopian novel that examines the U.S. Corrections System in a wildly-creative way. Think that old show American Gladiators from the late 80s/early 90s, but all the competitors are prisoners.
They’re broadcast on live television. There’s different seasons, battles, teammates, fandoms, merch and they also travel around putting on shows; it’s a whole industry. An absolute money-maker for those at the top.
You are given the perspectives of various prisoners, of course, but you also get perspectives of others connected to the system — people at the top of the organization, viewers, protestors against the abuse in the system, people whose loved ones have been in the system, etc.
I thought this was a smart way to tell the story. Each perspective brings a new level of knowledge to the Reader about the system. I liked learning about it that way.
I also appreciated how the author set-up a space where the Reader could think for themselves about all these different aspects involved in our Justice and Correctional systems, versus hand-feeding opinions. That’s how you get people to really ruminate on a concept or idea.
Overall, Chain-Gang All-Stars is an incredibly powerful book. Equal parts heart-breaking, thought-provoking and eye-opening. It’s not one to be missed.
This is the epitome of showing-not-telling, and I felt like, even though at times, I felt the transitions between perspectives a bit jarring, I still wouldn’t really change anything. It’s done with such thought and creativity.
I highly recommend this one to any Reader who wants some high-quality substance to chew on. My Literary Fiction friends should be adding this to their TBRs with haste.