Name: The Mars Room
ISBN: 9781444840896

Rachel Kushner

Romy Hall is at the start of two consecutive life sentences at Stanville Women's Correctional Facility. Outside is the world from which she has been permanently severed: the San Francisco of her youth, changed almost beyond recognition; the Mars Room strip club, where she once gave lap dances for a living; and her seven-year-old son, Jackson, now in the care of Romy's estranged mother. Inside is a new reality to adapt to: thousands of women hustling for the bare essentials needed to survive, amid the deadpan absurdities of institutional living. Romy sees the future stretch out ahead of her in a long unwavering line - until news from outside brings a ferocious urgency to her existence, challenging her to escape her own destiny...

The Mars Room

TIME’S #1 FICTION TITLE OF THE YEAR • NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2018 FINALIST for the MAN BOOKER PRIZE and the NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD LONGLISTED for the ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL An instant New York Times bestseller from two-time National Book Award finalist Rachel Kushner, The Mars Room earned tweets from Margaret Atwood—“gritty, empathic, finely rendered, no sugar toppings, and a lot of punches, none of them pulled”—and from Stephen King—“The Mars Room is the real deal, jarring, horrible, compassionate, funny.” It’s 2003 and Romy Hall, named after a German actress, is at the start of two consecutive life sentences at Stanville Women’s Correctional Facility, deep in California’s Central Valley. Outside is the world from which she has been severed: her young son, Jackson, and the San Francisco of her youth. Inside is a new reality: thousands of women hustling for the bare essentials needed to survive; the bluffing and pageantry and casual acts of violence by guards and prisoners alike; and the deadpan absurdities of institutional living, portrayed with great humor and precision. Stunning and unsentimental, The Mars Room is “wholly authentic…profound…luminous” (The Wall Street Journal), “one of those books that enrage you even as they break your heart” (The New York Times Book Review, cover review)—a spectacularly compelling, heart-stopping novel about a life gone off the rails in contemporary America. It is audacious and tragic, propulsive and yet beautifully refined and “affirms Rachel Kushner as one of our best novelists” (Entertainment Weekly).

A Novel

don't think I was the right audience for this book

Jules 

It's 2003 and Romy Hall is at the start of two consecutive life sentences at Stanville Women's Correctional Facility, deep in California's Central Valley. Outside is the world from which she has been severed: the San Francisco of her youth and her young son, Jackson. Inside is a new reality: thousands of women hustling for the bare essentials needed to survive; the bluffing and pageantry and casual acts of violence by guards and prisoners alike; and the deadpan absurdities of institutional living.

Cait🪼

Yeah, I'm going to have to DNF this :((

I really thought I would love this book! The premise sounds amazing but the writing style really wasn't for me. I don't actively dislike time-hopping in books, but it felt so disjointed here. One paragraph we were in the present, then the past, then the future, then somewhere totally random...it was all relevant information but the delivery felt off. 

I've given it 2⭐️ as I'm hoping to revisit the book some time next year

Wynter

The Mars Room can seem to ramble on like the endless life sentence at the state penitentiary. It seems to be about nothing, but the everyday struggles of inmates and their lives before prison. Romy’s Life before incarceration was nothing new to read about - the wild child with drug-addicted friends, the prostitution and the stalker, the failing public defense, - but every time the narrative returned behind bars, it became impossible to put down. I genuinely liked it.

**LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2018****THENEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER**'Kushner is one of our most outstanding modern writers.' STYLIST'More knowing about prison life than Orange Is The New Black...so powerful.' NEW YORK TIMES'Breathtaking.' VOGUERomy Hall is at the start of two consecutive life sentences, plus six years, at Stanville Women?s Correctional Facility. Outside is the world from which she has been permanently severed- the San Francisco of her youth, changed almost beyond recognition. The Mars Room strip club where she once gave lap dances for a living. And her seven-year-old son, Jackson, now in the care of Romy?s estranged mother.Inside is a new reality to adapt to- thousands of women hustling for the bare essentials needed to survive. The relentlessly deadpan absurdities of institutional living, which Kushner details with humour and precision. Daily acts of violence by guards and prisoners alike. Allegiances formed over liquor brewed in socks, and stories shared through sewage pipes. Romy sees the future stretch out ahead of her in a long, unwavering line - until news from outside brings a ferocious urgency to her existence, challenging her to escape her own destiny and culminating in a climax of almost unbearable intensity. Through Romy - and through a cast of astonishing characters populating Mars Room- Rachel Kushner presents not just a bold and unsentimental panorama of life on the margins of contemporary America, but an excoriating attack on the prison-industrial complex.

tanvi deshpande

Jade Flynn

Read for the Mini Magical Readathon: Visit Hogsmeade! Prompt - Honeydukes: A pink or green cover.

Grace Gaswick

This was kind of an odd book but I liked it. The storytelling meanders so it’s less of a straightforward POV switch per chapter (which I’m getting tired of as a writing style) and more just dipping into other characters’ stories at random. One might say the main character’s story was a little underdeveloped and had an unsatisfactory ending, but overall I enjoyed this.

Deailova El

Lexie 

SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2018 A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From the author of internationally acclaimed The Flamethrowers – a fearless and heartbreaking novel about love, friendship and incarceration. Romy Hall is starting two consecutive life sentences at Stanville Women’s Correctional Facility. Her crime? The killing of her stalker. Inside awaits a world where women must hustle and fight for the bare essentials. Outside: the San Francisco of her youth. The Mars Room strip club where she was once a dancer. Her seven-year-old son, Jackson. As Romy forms friendships over liquor brewed in socks and stories shared through sewage pipes her future seems to unfurl in one long, unwavering line – until news from beyond the prison bars forces Romy to try and outrun her destiny. 'Kushner is one of our most outstanding modern writers' STYLIST 'More knowing about prison life [than Orange Is The New Black]... so powerful' NEW YORK TIMES 'Breathtaking' VOGUE

Amber Gibbons

Audrey

Elizabeth Denny

melissa madden

Ditipriya Acharya

Francine Corry

Leticia Leal

Kyle Curry

Jens Madsen

Rosie Yakob 

Romy Hall is starting two consecutive life sentences at Stanville Women's Correctional Facility. Her crime ? The killing of her stalker. Inside awaits a world where women must hustle and fight for the bare essentials. Outside : the San Francisco of her youth. The Mars Room strip club where she was once a dancer. Her seven-year-old son, Jackson. As Romy forms friendships over liquor brewed in socks and stories shared through sewage pipes her future seems to unfurl in one long, unwavering line - until news from beyond the prison bars forces Romy to try and outrun her destiny.

The Mars Room

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