Research Catalog

Title

Chain-gang all-stars / Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah.

Author

Adjei-Brenyah, Nana Kwame

Publication

• New York : Pantheon Books, [2023]
• ©2023

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xi, 363 pages; 25 cm.

Summary

"The explosive, hotly-anticipated debut novel from the New York Times-bestselling author of Friday Black, about two top women gladiators fighting for their freedom within a depraved private prison system not so far-removed from America's own. Loretta Thurwar and Hamara "Hurricane Staxxx" Stacker are the stars of Chain-Gang All-Stars, the cornerstone of CAPE, or Criminal Action Penal Entertainment, a highly-popular, highly-controversial, profit-raising program in America's increasingly dominant private prison industry. It's the return of the gladiators and prisoners are competing for the ultimate prize: their freedom. In CAPE, prisoners travel as Links in Chain-Gangs, competing in death-matches for packed arenas with righteous protestors at the gates. Thurwar and Staxxx, both teammates and lovers, are the fan favorites. And if all goes well, Thurwar will be free in just a few matches, a fact she carries as heavily as her lethal hammer. As she prepares to leave her fellow Links, she considers how she might help preserve their humanity, in defiance of these so-called games, but CAPE's corporate owners will stop at nothing to protect their status quo and the obstacles they lay in Thurwar's path have devastating consequences. Moving from the Links in the field to the protestors to the CAPE employees and beyond, Chain-Gang All-Stars is a kaleidoscopic, excoriating look at the American prison system's unholy alliance of systemic racism, unchecked capitalism, and mass incarceration, and a clear-eyed reckoning with what freedom in this country really means from a "new and necessary American voice" (Tommy Orange, New York Times Book Review)"--

Series Statement

Read with Jenna

Subject

• Women prisoners > Fiction
• Women gladiators > Fiction
• Contests > Fiction
• Lesbians > Fiction
• Private prisons > Fiction
• African American prisoners > Fiction
• Mass incarceration > Fiction
• African American women
• Lesbians
• Mass incarceration
• Private prisons
• Women gladiators
• Women prisoners
• LGBTQ+ people
• Sexual minorities
• Contests
• African American prisoners
• United States

Genre/Form

• Dystopian fiction.
• Fiction.
• Lesbian fiction.
• Novels.
• Political fiction.
• LGBTQ+ fiction.

Contents

The freeing of Melancholia Bishop -- Part I -- Hurricane Staxxx -- B3 -- Teacup -- The bandwagon -- Electric -- Hendrix "Scorpion Singer" Young -- The van -- Personhood link -- Circuit -- Sports Central -- Salt bath -- Simon -- The new -- Food -- Door Four -- Stable -- Part II -- Simon Craft -- Children of incarcerated people -- Vega -- The board -- Melee -- To be influenced -- The art of influence -- Sing-Attica-sing -- Vacation -- Grounded -- Simon J. Craft -- Sung -- Babe? -- The ride -- McCleskey -- Hamara -- Presser -- We the enslaved -- Interview -- Kai -- Balloon archway -- The farmers market -- Deane's creams -- This -- Part III -- Sunset Harkless -- Tear gas -- The legend of the one-arm Scorpion Singer Hendrix and the unkillable Jungle Craft -- Bad water -- The regional -- Preparation -- The drive -- The morning of -- Shareef -- The feeling -- Yes -- Through the door -- Season 33 -- Suck my dick, America -- BlackOut -- Game -- Colossal -- Freeing day -- Loretta Thurwar.

Call Number

Sc E 23-1230

ISBN

• 9780593317334
• 0593317335
• 9780375715402
• 0375715401
• 9780593317341 (canceled/invalid)

LCCN

2022017029

OCLC

1311408783

Author

Adjei-Brenyah, Nana Kwame, author. Author

Title

Chain-gang all-stars / Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah.

Publisher

New York : Pantheon Books, [2023]

Copyright Date

©2023

Edition

First edition.

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Series

Read with Jenna

Local Note

Schomburg copy with dust jacket.

Local Subject

Black author.

Research Call Number

Sc E 23-1230