The Ballad Of Rochester Jail by M. A. Sloane
Predominantly, this work paints a portrait of a modern British prison, in this case HMP Rochester in Kent, England. After some brief anecdotes from Sloane’s life at the start to give context the author carves out some of the colourful characters he is locked up with and gives an up close an personal insight into that which is usually hidden from view within these establishments. Drugs, violence and madness are close companions with those behind these walls and the narrative describes an environment which is sometimes terrifying, sometimes tragic but also frequently funny as prisoners amuse themselves in comical ways in order to ease boredom.
Meet Marcus, dealing drugs to the whole wing but struggling with his own substance misuse issues. Meet Brad the burglar who keeps mice and spiders as pets. Meet Kempy, languid, handsome and frequently hilarious. And meet Peter, loved by all but bigoted beyond belief. Sloane, in prison with many of the friends he grew up with uses language which is not for the faint hearted and records faithfully for you the views anathema to the woke liberal left of today. He justifies this by saying it is real, it is simply truth but be warned that this book is not for the faint hearted.