Marching Powder

BOOK: Marching Powder: A True Story of Friendship, Cocaine, and South America’s Strangest Jail

AUTHOR(S): Rusty Young and Thomas McFadden

GRADE: A-

Arrested while attempting to smuggle cocaine out of Bolivia, Thomas McFadden finds himself squatting on the cold floor of a fellow inmate’s cell because he can’t afford rent for his own prison cell. Yes, you read that correctly: Mr. McFadden needs to pay rent for the privilege of occupying a single room cell in San Pedro Prison! Oh, and should he get hungry by chance, he will need additional cash to purchase food. Need some clothing? Again – that’ll cost you sir!

Welcome to the bizarre world of San Pedro Prison in La Paz, Bolivia: a city within a city. San Pedro is quite possibly the only prison on earth where inmates pay rent for their cell, buy their own food and clothing and run restaurants and stores within the prison. Everything in San Pedro runs on cold hard cash – actually Bolivianos. It truly is capitalism at its best and Young and McFadden’s testimony is shocking to say the least.

After discovering the prison in The Lonely Planet Guidebook, Rusty Young decides to visit and signs up for a tour run by inmate Thomas McFadden. What he witnesses prompts him to voluntarily live inside the prison with McFadden for four months to learn more about this unprecedented arrangement. The result is an absolutely stunning account friendship, love and life inside the walls of a Bolivian prison.

It should be noted here that technically the Bolivian representatives deny all allegations of charging for room and board, food, clothing etc. They steadfastly deny all charges of corruption despite the foolproof documentation in Young and McFadden’s book (in addition to numerous guide books). The prison runs on bribery, blackmail and extortion. The livelihoods of the San Pedro employees depend on the money made from the prisoners through bribes and hush money (since their salaries are next to nothing).

Marching Powder is a grade A page turner. You simply won’t be able to put it down. The chapters are short and sweet and keep you begging for more. It is by far the most fascinating account I’ve read all year!

A Novel Bookstore

BOOK: A Novel Bookstore

AUTHOR: Laurence Cosse

GRADE: A+

Ladies and Gentlemen: This has earned the title of my top read for 2011. Without a doubt, Lawrence Cosse’s book runs miles around every other book I’ve read this year. I simply cannot implore you enough to go and purchase A Novel Bookstore immediately. You will not regret it. You have my word.

The premise of A Novel Bookstore appeals to the literary snob in me. Unless heavily coerced, I steadfastly refuse to read the titles that turn into national cult phenomena. If everyone else is reading it, you can be pretty sure I’m not. Is it fair of me to write things off simply because everyone else is doing it? Probably not; but it’s ingrained in me and old habits die hard. Finally, I’ve found a novel that gets it!

Laurence Cosse builds his story around the creation of a bookstore that offers only literary masterpieces (both contemporary and classics) chosen by a secret committee of eight members whose identities are hidden from the public and even from each other to ensure the total purity of their choices and the lack of pressure from others. The current bestsellers are not stocked. The troves of “sub par” books published month after month are not stocked. Nope, The Good Novel offers its clientele pure literary gold. And it’s an instant success! Die hard readers and lovers of true literature (as opposed to popular fluff) flock to the store right from opening day. Its founders dreams have become a reality and all is well.

Well, no one could possibly predict the hatred that this simply little specialty store unleashes. Months after its creation, attacks start coming in; taking the form of op ed articles in all the popular newspapers, web attacks on the store’s site and hateful messages left on the answering machine. All of this is vastly annoying but not life threatening. That is, until one by one three members of the secret selection committee are attacked violently; leaving the other five members at risk and in fear for their safety. An investigation is launched and the outcome is a true shocker – including the unfathomable death of the person you would least expect. Just to add to the fun, Cosse throws in a beautiful and complex love story that will leave you aching to know more.

A Novel Bookstore is an amazing read. Page turner. Beyond beautifully written. Suspenseful and satisfying. Get thee to a bookstore and pick it up. Right now. You have no idea what you’re missing….