Books set in prisonLike this list

16 items

• Orange Is the New Black

  My Year in a Woman's Prison

  Kerman, Piper

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  Non-fiction

• The River Is Waiting

  a Novel

  Lamb, Wally,

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• Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption

  King, Stephen

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  This is the novella that was used to write the Academy Award nominated movie that shortened its name to just "The Shawshank Redemption." Lacking all of the stereotypically Stephen King horror or paranormal phenomena, this book at its core is…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Green Mile

  King, Stephen, 1947-

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  Stephen King gets two books on this list, and he actually has more that feature a prison setting (see Sleeping Beauties and Finders Keepers). This one too was also adapted for the big screen, but unlike Shawshank, The Green Mile walked away with…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Kiss of the Spider Woman

  Puig, Manuel

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• Affinity

  Waters, Sarah, 1966-

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• American Prison

  a Reporter's Undercover Journey Into the Business of Punishment

  Bauer, Shane,

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  Part memoir, part history, this award winning book is told from the perspective of an undercover journalist who worked as a prison guard for . NPR describes it as both "enraging" and "necessary."

• The Count of Monte Cristo

  Dumas, Alexandre, 1802-1870

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  Let's start with a classic.

• A Gentleman in Moscow

  Towles, Amor

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  It's a little stretch to include this one but I couldn't help but think of it, and it's so beautifully crafted that I love any reason to recommend it. Though not actually in traditional prison, the main character in A Gentleman in Moscow is…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Monster

  Myers, Walter Dean, 1937-2014

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  Young adult

• One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

  Solzhenit͡syn, Aleksandr Isaevich, 1918-2008

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• Eileen

  Moshfegh, Ottessa,

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• Papillon

  Charrière, Henri, 1906-1973

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• Alias Grace

  Atwood, Margaret, 1939-

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• The Mars Room

  Kushner, Rachel,

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• Chain-gang All-stars

  a Novel

  Adjei-Brenyah, Nana Kwame,

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