The Prison House

by John King

In this contemporary Midnight Express, a young English traveller is locked up in a Greek jail for a crime he did not commit.

Seven Towers is another name for Hell: a prison where squalor and fear are endemic and where the barbarism of the warders is more than matched by that of the inmates. A nightmare interspersed with memories of childhood and his past journeys, The Prison House is as much about one man’s indomitable will to survive as it is about the capacity for evil. As such, it is a moving testament to the human spirit and its ability -- against the odds -- to hold on to hope and the idea of love.

The Prison House is a visceral, violent and compelling novel from the author of The Football Factory.

Genres: Fiction, British Literature

278 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

John King is the author of eight novels – The Football Factory, Headhunters, England Away, Human Punk, White Trash, The Prison House, Skinheads and The Liberal Politics Of Adolf Hitler. The Football Factory was turned into a high-profile film. A new novel – Slaughterhouse Prayer – was published on 8 November 2018.

King has written short stories and non-fiction for a number of publications, with articles appearing in the likes of The New Statesman, Le Monde and La Repubblica. His books have been widely translated abroad. He edits the fiction fanzine Verbal and lives in London.

Reviews

[P.J. Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an experience. Not at all what I expected and it wasn't until I finished reading it that I could reflect and see the beauty and the depth with which the author wove the story. This is not a book to be judged without a full and focused read. I list this as one of my favorite books and also the strangest experience of reading and the most difficult to explain to another. A surface reader will never understand the depths of the turmoil and mental health crisis of the protagonist, but if you are a deep reader, someone who takes your time to absorb the feelings of the words and are open to chaos, you are in for an... experience. Haha. Best word for it.

[Dirk Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Huge fan of his work and think he really captures the demographic he’s writing about be it football hooligan, skin head or rude boy.

Really struggled with this one, an Englishman in a prison in an unnamed country (probably Turkey), we never find out what he did and only find out facts at the end - he retreats into prison life and his imagination which are blended in huge sentences and prose. Some might say it is intelligent but I found it at times unreadable and my attention kept waning.

Disappointed.

[Helena (Renchi King) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ocjena 3/4.Tema o zatvorskom životu,prljavštini i nasilnicima,mučna je i stvarno nije za svakog čitatelja.
Mučila sam se sa čitanjem i nisam htjela odustati.
Ima svoju fabulu i happy end (tko bi rekao),a taj završetak nije sloboda.
Duge rečenice isprepletene realnošću i maštom glavna su obilježja ovog romana.
Roman zahtjeva malo veću koncentraciju.
Nije za razbibrigu.

[Tony · Rating 1 out of 5]

I absolutely loved King's "football trilogy" (The Football Factory, Headhunters, England Away), and thought "Human Punk" was an excellent change of direction. However, his last book, "White Trash", was an utter disaster, and it was with some trepidation that I picked this one up. Regrettably, after slogging through 1/3 of the book I just couldn't be bothered to continue and have set it aside for the foreseeable future. The problem isn't the subject matter (a young British man imprisoned, apparently under dubious circumstances in an unspecified Mediterranean country, perhaps Greece), but the execution. The prison novel/film is a well-established genre, and in the first third of the book, King brings nothing new to it. There's the grim living conditions, the threat of violence, the kooky fellow prisoners, nasty warders, and balancing act between boredom and fear. In short, all the usual trappings of a prison story. Interwoven with the description of daily life are the prisoner's rambling memories of his childhood and various global travels. These extended stream of consciousness monologues may well appeal to fans of Burroughs, Bukowski, et al, but as I'm not particularly a fan of that style, they didn't work for me. In any event, the first 1/3 of the book dragged so badly that it'll be a long time before I return to it.