In the Belly of the Beast: Letters From Prison

I don't know how to describe this book...it was interesting and informative (in parts), but it was also repetitive and boring (in parts). It was heartfelt and honest and raw, but also preachy and one sided. It is odd reading a book that is culled together from a series of letters, but you are only reading one side of the conversation, it feels as if something is missing. It also felt choppy and disjointed at parts, probably due to the way it was assembled, different passages from different sections of different letters. All in all it was compelling, and makes you wonder if circumstances have changed from how they were portrayed in the book, you like to think yes, but still wonder...

A lot of people on this site are probably too young to remember all the fuss over Jack Henry Abbott in the 80s. He was in prison (I forget what for initially), and started corresponding with Norman Mailer. He eventually became a protege of Mailer, who worked to get him paroled. I bet you can guess the rest: he did wind up getting paroled, whereupon he murdered a young man with whom he had had an argument in a restaurant. He then got sent back to prison, where he eventually died fairly recently.

The political considerations aside, his writing really isn't that great, for the most part. He writes powerfully about certain aspects of prison life, but those passages are few and far between. Mostly, the book is composed of his maunderings on show more various topics, none of which is particularly well-written or compelling. This book is more or less a footnote to Mailer's career, and not an intrinsically interesting one. show less

This disturbing work is a collection of letters written by Abbott, a man who spent most of his life in prison, to Norman Mailer. Mailer was writing The Executioner’s Song at the time and crusading for prison reform; Abbott initiated a correspondence with Mailer and offered to tell him about life inside a maximum-security prison. The resulting letters are a strange mixture of rants, complaints, anecdotes, and political discussions, all from the mind of a possibly deranged criminal.

This book is very hard for me to evaluate. While I was reading, I found myself biased against Abbott and reluctant to believe anything that he said. Some of the claims he makes are patently false. However, he is also a good writer and obviously an intelligent show more person, and some of his insights are (in my opinion) surprisingly accurate. I’m almost positive that anybody who reads this will find something offensive about it, yet it’s certainly a fascinating read. If you’re into prison literature, I would highly recommend this, but be warned that it’s quite disturbing. show less

This book has been on my shelf for ~20 years! While I’m sure prison conditions and the dynamics of being incarcerated the way the author described were mostly accurate at that time; however, I don’t buy into his perceived reality. While I believe our US criminal justice system remains flawed, I am annoyed with his grandiose attitude, lack of personal accountability for his choices, victim stance, and glorified/embellished story telling. I hoped to learn something valuable from his experience, but his work does not stand the test of time.

This book was just okay. I am interested in first account stories of people in hard times and thought this might be interesting when I found it at the book rescue. Turns out it is a series of letters from the author to another man. The letters are horrific. The way he has been treated is horrific. If this is how we treat our prisoners, no wonder there is so much bitterness and anger when so many get out. We definitely do not make it easy for people to turn their lives around. He definitely had a lot of anger in him but it sounds like it was justified. Some people never have a chance. It is really sad. This is America, where we all should have a chance.

abbott describes the experience of being repeatedly imprisoned throughout his life (beginning in childhood). he also expounds on philosophy and comments on various social ills (violence, racism, capital punishment). it's tough to read (emotionally) but very interesting.

This was a scary book way back when...