Sentence

Ten Years and a Thousand Books in Prison

By: Daniel Genis

Narrated by: Daniel Genis

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

In 2003 Daniel Genis, the son of a famous Soviet émigré writer, broadcaster, and culture critic, was fresh out of NYU when he faced a serious heroin addiction that led him into debt and ultimately crime. After he was arrested for robbing people at knifepoint, he was nicknamed the “Apologetic Bandit” in the press, given his habit of expressing regret to his victims as he took their cash. He was sentenced to twelve years—ten with good behavior, a decade he survived by reading 1,046 books, taking up weightlifting, having philosophical discussions with his fellow inmates, working at a series of prison jobs, and in general observing an existence for which nothing in his life had prepared him.

Genis describes in unsparing and vivid detail the realities of daily life in the New York penal system. In his journey from Rikers Island and through a series of upstate institutions, he encounters violence on an almost daily basis, while learning about the social strata of gangs, the “court” system that sets geographic boundaries in prison yards, how sex was obtained, the workings of the black market in 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 wife, whom he recently married.

Written with empathy and wit, Sentence is a strikingly powerful memoir of the brutalities of prison and how one man survived them, leaving its walls with this book inside him, “one made of pain and fear and laughter and lots of other books.”

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

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.

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.

Wonderful listen & writing

A thoroughly enjoyable read and listen. Mr. Genis has a knack for nuanced realism and humor that keeps a steady rhythm
throughout. There was never a dull moment that made me consider putting it aside and letting it collect dust like many others chock-full of filler. And his tone and "voice" as an author is as charismatically entertaining as Mr.
Anthony Bourdain if I can be so bold. And on the audio book side of things if this is his first go of this line of work I commend him. As he read through better than many I have come across.

I am biased like anyone else. So take the above as you will. But despite having little in common background wise with the man who wrote this I still felt a heavy catharsis in listening and reading his story. And on top of that it also taught me alot like other crime memoirs on some of the nuances and sociology among prisoners of the North East US.

All & all a pleasure to read.
Although to be expected it is in fact a Mature/Rated R read. So if sensitive to descriptions of violence, gangs, bodily fluid, eating nonedibles, drug use, self injury, suicidal ideation and many many more adjacent topics then I would steer clear. But if not? This will be an instant classic for your shelf. I look forward to my next run in with his works.