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2020 | Biography | Crime | Humor & Comedy
Where can a tin of tuna buy you clean clothes? Where is it easier to get 'spice' than paracetamol? Where does self-harm barely raise an eyebrow?
Welcome to Her Majesty's Prison Service. Like most people, documentary-maker Chris Atkins didn't spend much time thinking about prisons. But after becoming embroiled in a dodgy scheme to fund his latest film, he was sent down for five years. His new home would be HMP Wandsworth, one of the largest and most dysfunctional prisons in Europe.
With a cast of characters ranging from wily drug dealers to senior officials bent on endless reform, this powerful memoir uncovers the horrifying reality behind the locked gates. Filled with dark humour and shocking stories, A Bit of a Stretch reveals why our creaking prison system is sorely costing us all.
Chris Atkins
(Author)
| Published by | Atlantic Books |
Non Fiction Wandsworth Prison Prison Reform UK Prisons
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Images And Data Courtesy Of: Atlantic Books.
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Chris Atkins was sent to prison for 5 years after being involved in a dodgy tax scheme that was used to finance his films. Wandsworth was to be his home for a large part of his sentence, and this is where the book is set. Chris wrote a diary whilst he was there, and he certainly had enough to write about: drug dealers, self-harmer’s, prison officers, of the helpful, clueless and vindictive varieties, and senior officials trying to instigate some sort of reform (which ends badly, if I’m honest).
It’s a funny, and at times frustrating read. It illustrates everything that’s wrong with our prison system, which seems to be stuck in the Victorian era. We need to decide what we want our prison system to do: to simply incarcerate, or to rehabilitate. The number of people who reoffend is phenomenal - isn’t this a total waste of money? Is this really a reflection of time well served?
Anyway, I suggest everyone reads this and makes up their own minds.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this book, and to the author, Chris Atkins, for reading along.
AJaneClark (3975 KP) rated
Feb 20, 2021
This book is an eye-opener, highlighting the failures in prison reforms, the amount of drugs in the prisons, as well as other internal goings on. Atkins writes with emotion and humour, you feel his despair at the separation from his child, and the frustration of life behind bars. You will also find yourself laughing out loud.
If you like biographical tell alls, you will enjoy this one.