Piper KermanRezensionen

Wow, having seen Seasons 1 (and most of 2), it has been really fun to compare and contrast with the TV show--many characters renamed, some sharing characteristics with other people entirely, etc.

It's amazing the things we outsiders don't know, mostly about restrictions of privilege but also nonsensical abuse (they don't provide SOAP? You can't earn more than prison minimum wage unless you have a high-school diploma?).

It is less dramatic than the show (in some ways), but well worth reading nonetheless. Sad, uplifting, scary, hopeful, a cautionary tale for sure.

Boring. While Piper is certainly more likable, the other characters lack depth and are just plain compared to their Netflix's counterparts.

My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/tpzUyuFPVwc

Enjoy!

I found this to be engrossing. What struck me the most was Ms. Kerman's message of humanity as shown through her relationships with other inmates. She managed to write an inspiring, positive book about a horrible experience. I couldn't put it down!

I’m really glad I decided to read this one. I wasn’t in need of a inside view of the US prison system, but I definitely see the good to be had from reading Piper Kerman’s account of her time doing time.

The one thing I really appreciated about this book was the absence of self pity from our author. If this had been a poor-pitiful-me story, I would have DNFed the sh*t out of it. Kerman never once gave me that impression in this book. In fact, she reiterates multiple times that she had to own her mistakes and serve her time for making them.

I appreciated that she wrote about the years before her incarceration. I think it gave the reader insight into how she got herself into trouble and what emotions lead here to make the decisions that she did. I can relate to her younger self’s desires to have adventure and live an above average life.

Now, to address what many readers have pointed out through countless reviews; Yes, Piper Kerman is a privileged, white woman and this did affect the way her incarceration and subsequent release went. She even writes about this in the book. These reviewers aren’t writing anything that she hasn’t already and I think it very unfair to berate her for something that she really had no control over. Privileged or not, she still served time in the US prison system. Moving on.

Kerman is accurate with her assessments of the prison system. There is a dire need for change. Some could argue that serving time for minor crimes should be reevaluated. But then I have to ask, what’s to keep society from increasing the number of minor crime violations? In a vacuum, Kerman’s 10 year old minor drug crimes aren’t as serious as other drug crimes, but if the sentencing for this were reduced, where does it put similarly scaled crimes at? What does that do to the big picture? I worry that any change to how a crimes like this are dealt with could have negative repercussions. …I’m not saying anything more than a crime is a crime, for which you should serve the time for committing it.

Full review: https://wanderinglectiophile.wordpress.com/2018/01/03/review-orange-is-the-new-b...

Going to prison isn't so bad if you're perky! Disappointing. I heard the author interviewed on WNYC (probably Leonard Lopate) and thought her story might be interesting. I'll take Ted Connover any day.

I admit, I only discovered this book because of the show. If you're buying it expecting a similar experience you will be disappointed. For me though, while the book is different, it's equally enjoyable, just in a different way. It's an interesting look into the prison system with humor and grace. Yes, you will recognize some of the characters (although some have different names than the show) and incidents but it is obviously not a chapter/episode match up. I found it enjoyable.

We were watching the TV show of the same name, and though I enjoyed it a lot, I kept thinking "I can't believe the book is like this." And sure enough, it's not. The book is far less sensationalist, far less dramatic, with far less intrigue than the book. The book itself is measured and mature, and shows a degree of introspection and a capacity for growth that the TV Piper has not yet demonstrated. It considers the flaws of the prison service, and how they fail their inmates and hence society - in short, it at least starts to grapple with some complex issues constructively, from an unusual point of view.

The book is actually a lot more life-affirming than the show, and mostly dwells on the ways that Kerman keeps her morale up. This is through small positive things (like running, reading, making microwave cheesecake) and of course through the friendships she establishes (sometimes against the odds). There is a slight issue here in that she ends up making the experience sound more pleasant than she is at pains to explain that it is, but that is, I believe, partly due to her steering clear of the people that she disliked (both in prison and in the book).

What the show has done is take a few tiny kernels of ideas, and then extrapolated from that, amping up the drama by orders of magnituded. Throw-away sentences become multi-episode story-arcs.

On one level, this is fine. The book as is would have made a worthy documentary about a women's correctional facility, but it would not have made a hit TV show. I'm totally okay with both versions coexisting. Except! Except that so many of the characters in the show are recognisable from the book - some even have the same names (which, admittedly, were changed in the book, but must surely still be recognisable) - and in the show some of them have done horrible things. I don't mind Piper's family and in-laws being portrayed as worse than in real life, as presumably she can explain to them, and they can laugh over the royalties and a cocktail. But it seems really harsh to have a poor inmate having a horrendous backstory appended to them.

Maybe Kerman went round and squared it all off with everyone, and my concern is undeserved. And, either way, it is not a fault of the book. Still, for better or worse, and hopefully not overshadowing the serious points that the book makes, it is one of the more intriguing things about it.

This is a remarkable book. The author never wallows in self pity or anger and shows a remarkable capacity for empathy and understanding for her fellow prisoners. There is no stereotyping or judging just beautifully drawn characters all treated with dignity and respect. I couldn't put this book down. Highly recommended.

I could not develop a connection with Piper. She was an adult with a university education, looking for excitement. She knew she was committing a crime. She needed to sacrifice and pay the penalty.
I wasn't sure that she ever understood how serious it was to be involved with the drug cartel. She needed more experiences with drug addicts to really 'get it'.

I was utterly enthralled by every page of this book. From the beginning, as Piper described the series of bad choices that landed her in prison 10 years later, to the very last page, I was deeply moved by Piper's story. Her writing is visceral and endearing, both deeply relatable and incredibly fascinating.

But it was the strength of female friendships, the prisoners' strong wills and deep humanity that moved me the most. I appreciated the in-depth look at the culture and bonds that develop in prison, and I loved getting to know each woman in turn through Piper's eyes.

I was intrigued by the Netflix show, but learning that they took great liberties with the truth discouraged me from seeking it out. I loved the book too much to have it tainted by a fictional and sensationalized account of life behind bars.

I really had a difficult time getting into this book. I felt that the author was presenting everything in a very black and white manner. Prison system all bad, prisoners all victims. It's just not that simple.

I did not enjoy this book at all. Piper, the author, seemed like a pretentious, whinny, spoiled girl. The way she described life in federal prison made me think of a summer camp. She was in a minimum security prison, meaning, no bars, she could freely go outside when she wanted to, watch tv, cook...

Not sure if I should give this 3 stars because I'm disappointed that the story was so bright 'n' sunny until the last part....or if I wasn't really impressed with the story. However, this reinforces my belief that jail is awful, because I wouldn't want to live with thousands of women for months on end. I'll continue to be a law abiding citizen, thank you.

Unequivocally the best book I've read this year. Highly recommend.

Short Review: This memoir starts out a lot more interesting than it ultimately turned out to be. The legal processes and some of the ways the women's prison system operates is interesting, and I'm sympathetic to the social commentary in the book, but even though Kerman's experience in the prison only lasted for a little over a year, it felt a bit lacking and could have used a little more detail. Admittedly, you get you more meat and not much fat out the book, so it has substance, but, and I can't believe I'm saying this, it somehow felt like it could have used a bit more padding. Still, a decent and worthwhile read.

3.5 stars. The people and situations Kerman were interesting (for the most part), and it was engaging to read about day to day life in a prison.

A good accounting of what the legal system and being in minimum security prison is about from the female perspective. But nothing unusual or extraordinary when it comes to narrative. What surprises me is that the Netflix series is extremely well done while the book, in my opinion, is mediocre at best.

I'm glad I read it. It was interesting to read about Piper's experience. I don't generally read memoirs so this was a change for me and one that I'm glad I made.

I love memoirs and this one did not disappoint. I would have liked more of an 'after' at the end, but I thought it was a sweet way to give closure to the story. I enjoyed reading about her experience and thought she was insightful yet honest with herself. I didn't feel like she was whiny or annoying, which I was happy about. I liked it so much, I signed up for Netflix just to watch the TV show adaptation.

I liked the book quite a bit. If you're looking for the sort of drama that happens on the show, you're not going to get it. But if you're interested in knowing what life is like, day to day, at a women's minimum security prison, this is your book.

The characters are interesting - many are recognizable for you fans of the Netflix show - but have very little depth. Piper doesn't have much depth, either, but I found the stories and inmates interesting and enjoyable, to be sure.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this memoir after having seen the first few seasons of the show, "Orange is the New Black." I'm glad I read the book - it's interesting to learn about Piper's experiences that became springboards for Drama/Comedy in the show. Quite a bit of the show did have a basis in reality, even though the tone became different to allow for entertainment value.

Piper does a good job of addressing many of the problems with our prison system as a punishment instead of vehicle for rehabilitation. Parts of her story are infuriating to hear how inmates are treated, as though they are subhuman.

Cassandra Campbell handles the audiobook narration very well and I look forward to reading more books narrated by her.

How to go to jail for a year and still have a wildly successful and privileged life. Not much like the show.

Piper Kerman chronicles her 15 months in Federal prison on a drug charge.

I found her story compelling and interesting - and I never, ever want to spend time in prison.

I haven't seen the TV show based on this book, but will likely go take a look soon.

“We have a racially based justice system that overpunishes, fails to rehabilitate, and doesn't make us safer.”
― Piper Kerman, Orange Is the New Black

Powerful quote. And I thought I'd love this. But I didn't.

She makes going to jail sound like a party. OK, Maybe that's extreme but..

I am sorry to be harsh but I read this book for my former book club. None of us enjoyed it. I myself could not believe the way Jail was described..such sunny terms! I did enjoy the beginning of the book and it does make for an interesting debate. But I really did not care for the book in general.

Nothing really happens. We read about Jailhouse bondings, jailhouse parties, new characters coming and going, sweetness and light.. I mean there isn't a heck of alot of introspection in the book and after awhile it became a chore to read because nothing really ever happens.

I personally felt Piper should never have been in jail in the first place. I think maybe if the book had been more about that central question I'd have enjoyed it more. And no way do I believe jail was quite as..well..sunny as I read about.

There were aspects of dark times described. I do not mean to imply there wasn't. But all to often we had to read about yet another sunny party and I simply did not believe it. I also could not keep track of who was who. So many characters.

I am glad she's out and I have yet to watch the show, although I have heard it is way better then the book. But I personally did not care for this book.