Animal Factory

The Animal Factory is a very interesting novel. It tells very vividly about life in one of America's toughest prisons, San Quentin. The reason behind the realistic storytelling is probably the writer's first-hand experience of spending over 25 years in prison.

Bunker is a very good writer. His vocabulary is wide and his style compelling. His wordplay is so eloquent, that it sometimes seems out of place in the prison milieu. Bunker's text is a pleasure to read.

The only gripe I have is that he doesn't seem to know who his main character is. The story starts telling about the sentence of a young and handsome drug trafficker into San Quentin, but soon shifts its focus to Earl, an older convict. I guess this mirrors Bunker's own experiences. show more But the two main characters are both very interesting, so it doesn't disturb the reading experience much.

Very much recommended for anyone interested about life in prison, or about how violence might be born from society's abuse. show less

Powerful, fascinating look at the prison system. According to the bio on the book, the author has spent 18 years in and out of prison, so I guess he knows whereof he speaks.

Earl Copen is a habitual criminal, in his late 30's, spending his third term behind bars and up for parole in a few years. He knows the score and he has influence. Ron Decker is a dealer, early 20's, sent to San Quentin for 10 years on a trafficking charge. Ron is young, he's pretty, and he's easy bait for the gangs. Earl finds himself drawn to Ron, becomes his protector, and the book is the story of their growing friendship and the lengths that Earl will go for Ron, lengths that even he doesn't quite understand.

(Reviewed March 2004)

Very good book about prison life written by someone who was there. Bunker does a good job describing prison society and relationships without sensationalizing/glorifying it. The creators of the HBO series "OZ" could have taken a lesson from him.

Välskrivet och nedtonat. En mycket trovärdig beskrivning av vardagen i en brutal verklighet. Kampen om sin inre frihet och mot ett system som bit för bit bryter ner en persons värdighet och moraliska ramar. Inte lika bra som debuten Pojkpokerblues men en riktigt bra bok som är svår att lägga ifrån sig.

Ron Decker, joven de buena familia, acaba con sus huesos en la temible prisión de San Quintín tras su primera detención por «vender droga como si tuviese licencia». Allí, en la fábrica de animales, donde los conflictos raciales y las peleas entre bandas están al orden del día, el novato Ron aprenderá muy pronto que para sobrevivir hay que estar dispuesto a todo. Su maestro en el infierno carcelario será Earl Coppen, uno de los tipos más duros y respetados de San Quintín, con quien el joven Decker entablará una improbable amistad forjada en largas conversaciones ajenas a la jerga carcelaria habitual.

Ron Decker acaba con sus huesos en la temible prisión de San Quintín tras su primera detención por «vender droga como si tuviese licencia». Allí, en la fábrica de animales, donde los conflictos raciales y las peleas entre bandas están al orden del día, el novato Ron aprenderá muy pronto que para sobrevivir hay que estar dispuesto a todo. Su maestro en el infierno carcelario será Earl Coppen, uno de los tipos más duros y respetados de San Quintín, con quien entablará una improbable amistad forjada en largas conversaciones ajenas a la jerga carcelaria.