by John Cheever
First published 1980
Farragut sits in his cell, a convicted man stripped of everything he once knew. The prison system works to break him down, to reduce him to something less than human. Guards treat inmates like children. Rules govern every moment. Violence lurks in corridors and common areas. Yet Farragut refuses to surrender his dignity completely. He navigates the brutal hierarchy of prison life while wrestling with memories of his crime. Other prisoners become allies, enemies, or simply fellow survivors trying to endure each day. The institution pushes him toward despair and regression. He pushes back. Farragut discovers that maintaining his sense of self requires constant vigilance. Small acts of defiance matter. Moments of connection with other inmates become precious. He learns which battles to fight and which to avoid. The question becomes not whether he can escape these walls, but whether he can emerge still recognizably himself. Cheever shows how a man can find unexpected reserves of strength when everything familiar gets stripped away. Farragut's struggle becomes both deeply personal and universal.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, 20th-century, crime
Vibes: dark, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: character-study, redemption, survival
Mass Market Paperback · Ballantine Books
Content warnings: violence