Verdict: 9/10
Pros: Written in such a compassion that makes you smile and wipe with the author. Wonderful insights in other aspects of life and they are as real as they can be.
Cons: Can’t think of much except that if you are not into memoires kind of writing, you may not enjoy it. Even so, it is worth a try as the book is indeed a page turner. Another reason why this book could be a put off is that it contains more than a million words (as quoted by the author).
I have picked up a signed copy from a bookstore inside Singapore airport and the image shown is the exact signature of Jeffery Archer. It turned out that I have enjoyed this book tremendously. A rare gem I would say.
This entire work is divided into three volumns. The first of all is Belmarsh: Hell. It was written when Archer was first sentenced for four years due to perjury and Belmarsh was where he ended up: jailed together with drug dealers and murderers. Inside Belmarsh as he unveiled the politics inside the prison community, how your life could be made better by mixing with the right people, stories from the lifers, and stories that are so wierd that are even better than novels. Archer also revealed the flaw of the so-called rehabitation system.
When he finally moved to a less restrictive prison (quite a fair bit of interesting plots), that was when he penned the second volume – Wayland: Purgatory. His zest of inquisition never ended. He interviewed the prisoners as well as the prison officers and all gave a deep insight into the prison system as the serious drug problem that UK faced. Not to forget to mention the stories that make you laugh as you read along.
Moving to an open prison prompted him to write the third volume – North Sea Camp – Heaven. By then he was so expert in the prison system and worked hard to gain his enchanced state that provided him with privilages. Here was when he revealed the sad reality that many prisoners who have been model prisoners and been locked up in many years – simply cannot survive in the real world. The so-called stupid things they do just to get them back to jail again because they feel safe inside the four walls.
There is a final twist to this book but I am not going to reveal here. I am really glad that Archer – a politician as well as a writter – continued to write given the circumstances. This book is a must-read.
