The Mars Room

The Mars Room
by Rachel Kushner
Pub May 2018

Set in a Women's Correctional Facility, The Mars Room  is centered on Romy Hall, a woman serving two consecutive life sentences. The story follows a web of narratives to explore the sad realities of life for marginalized populations both in and out of the prison system.

I'm a bit torn in how to review this book as there is plenty that I feel the author executed very well: flipping between people's perspectives kept the pace of the plot interesting, flowing back and forth across timelines created full, complex inmate's histories. I typically enjoy dark, gritty reads and the deadened affect of the characters complemented the tone of the novel perfectly. All that said, upon finishing all I could think was "Wait, is that it?" This may be an unfortunate case of desensitization via pop culture, but I feel that this book didn't really contribute much to the conversation that has not already been explored (both well or flippantly) by "Orange is the New Black" or "Prison Break." Which isn't to say there can be only one... just that I don't quite understand the waves upon waves of accolades this book received. Or for that matter, the Man Booker nomination. I chewed through the novel over a a few plane trips during a vacation, so maybe I just wasn't in the right headspace.

// I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.