In the Belly of the Beast
10. Jack Henry Abbott, In the Belly of the Beast
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 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.