June 6 is less than a week away, and because of this, my mind has been on one thing and one thing only: “Orange is the New Black.” The first season was everything from hilarious to heartwarming, but the viewers were left with one hell of a cliffhanger. I and thousands of other fans are eager to find out the fate of both Pennsatucky and protagonist Piper Chapman.
Because of my excitement over the television show, I did what I always do when faced with an unbearable cliffhanger. I bought the book.
From page one, there is an obvious difference between Jenji Kohen’s fictional world and author Piper Kerman’s real one. Kerman herself has very little in common with her television alter-ego. In fact the most obvious similarities between the two are that they are both blonde white ladies serving time for delivering drug money ten years before their sentences.
Kerman’s story featured far fewer moments of hilarity than the television series. I was disappointed to find that the chicken was a invention of Kohen’s, rather than a reality in Kerman’s book. The sharp, witty character of Nicols, who provides much of the comic relief in the television series was absent from Kerman’s book, and the real Crazy Eyes, another major source of comic relief in the series, backs off and disappears from Kerman’s story almost instantly.
There are several familiar faces, however, that do show up in Kerman’s book. Red is based off Kerman’s Pop, the Russian cook who takes excellent care in feeding Kerman in return for little favors like foot-rubs (strictly against the rules in prison, of course). Yoga Jones is based off Yoga Janet, who patiently guides Kerman to feeling more serene about her time in prison through daily Yoga. And then there’s Delicious, who throws out lines that fans of Tastee will be familiar with. “You got some nice titties! You got those TV titties! They stand up on they own all perky and everything!” These women and many other incredible women riddle Kerman’s book.
A warning to those going in expecting the re-kindled love between two women who have some epic long lost romance; Kerman’s book does not deal with her past lesbian lover in the same way Kohen’s series does. Kerman and now husband Larry kept true to their engagement when she was imprisoned, and her past relationship with ex-girlfriend Nora is remembered bitterly. The two do have an interesting reunion, just not in the way you might expect.
While the incredible characters and female bonds make up a majority of the book, even more important was Kerman’s scathing criticisms of the prison system. “No one who worked in ‘corrections’ appeared to give any thought to the purpose of our being there, any more than a warehouse clerk would consider the meaning of a can of tomatoes… How can a prisoner understand their punisment to have been worthwhile to anyone, when it’s dealt in a way so offhand and indifferent.” She also weaves facts among her poignant moments of reflection, including the fact that the United States has the biggest prison population in the world: 25 percent of the world’s prisoners even though Americans only take up 5 percent of the world’s population.
Though the book and the television series are two different things entirely, the book is still an incredible read. Featuring forgiveness, understanding, and the unbreakable bonds between women, this book is a must read for women everywhere.
Yet Another Starving Artist 