Sentence

Ten Years and a Thousand Books in Prison

By: Daniel Genis

Narrated by: Daniel Genis

Length: 13 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's Summary

A memoir of a decade in prison by a well-educated young addict known as the "Apologetic Bandit".

In 2003, fresh out of NYU, Daniel Genis was working in publishing as his writer father had always expected. But he was also hiding a serious heroin addiction that led him into debt and burglary. After he was arrested for robbing people at knifepoint in 2003, Daniel Genis was nicknamed the "apologetic bandit" in the press, given his habit of apologizing to his victims as he took their cash. He was sentenced to 12 years (10 with good behavior), surviving the decade by reading 1,046 books, weightlifting, having philosophical discussions with various inmates, encountering violence on a daily basis, working at a series of prison jobs, and in general observing an existence for which nothing in his life had prepared him.   

Sentence is one of the most striking prison memoirs - and memoirs in general - in recent years - written with intelligence, wit, empathy, and remarkable style. Genis is the son of a famous Soviet émigré writer, broadcaster, and culture critic in Russia. He grew up in a home whose visitors included Mikhail Baryshnikov; Russian nuclear physicist Andrei Sakharov; authors Kurt Vonnegut, Umberto Eco, and Norman Mailer; and Czech film director Miloš Forman. The education and culture so prized by his family were his lifeline during his decade in prison, and he describes in unsparing and vivid detail the realities of daily life in the New York penal system, from Rikers Island through a series of upstate institutions. He learns about the social strata of gangs, the "court" system that sets geographic boundaries in prison yards, how sex was obtained, the black market of drugs and more practical goods, the inventiveness required for everyday tasks such as cooking, and how debilitating solitary confinement actually is - all while trying to preserve his relationship with his recently married wife. 

Daniel Genis' debut has the potential to be both a critical and popular success, for few books have portrayed prison so vividly or with such insight.

©2022 Daniel Genis (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Needs a better reader

This was a fascinating look inside the New York penal system, but my pleasure was diminished considerably by the reader. it sounded like a Woody Allen wannabe was reading.

Top notch prison narrative

Thoroughly engaging story of an intellectuals decade in the New York state prison system.

Great but slow

Great book to listen to, but speed it up to 1.4 for a better experience

Great description of prison life

I found the description of life behind bars very interesting. Would have liked a little more specific integration with the substance of the books he read. The author's performance was great and added authenticity.