Ken Ballen

This is one I wish I'd read rather than listened to, because the narration contributed to my dissatisfaction. In particular, the one story told in the first person, by the least sympathetic person, was rendered in a thick accent, but the others weren't. The implicit racism of this troubles me.

Though I found this interesting, Ballen's sample were all people with reasons to say they had changed. (I know a couple didn't change perspective, but they did eschew violence, which I presume would be necessary for their release.) I would have appreciated a voice from a different perspective, from outside the treatment center.… (mehr)