Book Review: Orange is the New Black
Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison by Piper Kerman
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau
Paperback Release Date: March 8, 2011
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
With a career, a boyfriend, and a loving family, Piper Kerman barely resembles the reckless young woman who delivered a suitcase of drug money ten years before. But that past has caught up with her. Convicted and sentenced to fifteen months at the infamous federal correctional facility in Danbury, Connecticut, the well-heeled Smith College alumna is now inmate #11187–424—one of the millions of people who disappear “down the rabbit hole” of the American penal system. From her first strip search to her final release, Kerman learns to navigate this strange world with its strictly enforced codes of behavior and arbitrary rules. She meets women from all walks of life, who surprise her with small tokens of generosity, hard words of wisdom, and simple acts of acceptance.
I’m writing this review assuming you have watched the Orange is the New Black TV series on Netflix. If not, step away from the computer and binge watch it immediately. It is a MUST SEE. Great storylines and fantastic acting.
The book Orange is the New Black is decidedly less dramatic than the TV series. After reading it, I understand why the series is “inspired by” rather than “based on” the book. For instance, in real life, when Piper ends up with an extra screwdriver, she freaks out for a moment and then tosses in a Dumpster, never to be thought of again. The whole incident takes about two pages. In the series, an entire episode was based on the screwdriver and it caused an uproar in the whole prison.
The book shows more graphically how horrible Danbury actually is and how inequitable and arbitrary sentencing can be from prisoner to prisoner, usually depending on class and race. Piper doesn’t rant and rave about this or the ineffectiveness of prison as a rehabilitative tool, she just lets her experience and what she observed speak for itself.
I did find Piper to be a little pretentious in the first half of the book. It seemed at times like she thought she was the only well-educated white woman to ever be in prison, which I don’t think is the case. However, I felt like she redeemed herself to me in the last couple of chapters. And I still definitely enjoyed the book. It wasn’t as compelling as the TV series but it was more educational. It’s a good read to get your fix until the next season of Orange is the New Black is released. (And the book is so far removed from what is happening on the series at this point that I don’t feel like reading it will spoil the second season for you.)
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