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Title details for The Graybar Hotel by Curtis Dawkins - Available

The Graybar Hotel

Stories

by Curtis Dawkins
Pete Simonelli
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
1 of 1 copy available
In this "toughly courageous, unflinching, and unapologetic" (O, The Oprah Magazine) debut collection, Curtis Dawkins, an MFA graduate and convicted murderer serving life without parole, "takes us inside the worlds of prison and prisoners with stories that dazzle with their humor and insight, even as they describe a harsh and barren existence" (Publishers Weekly).
In Curtis Dawkins's first short story collection, longlisted for the 2018 Andrew Carnegie Medal, he offers a window into prison life through the eyes of his narrators and their cellmates. Dawkins reveals the idiosyncrasies, tedium, and desperation of long-term incarceration—he describes men who struggle to keep their souls alive despite the challenges they face.

In "A Human Number," a man collect-calls strangers just to hear the sounds of the outside world. In "573543," an inmate recalls his descent into addiction as his prison softball team gears up for an annual tournament. In "Leche Quemada," an inmate is released and finds freedom to be complex and baffling. Dawkins's stories are funny and sad, filled with unforgettable detail—the barter system based on calligraphy-ink tattoos, handmade cards, and cigarettes; a single dandelion smuggled in from the rec yard; candy made from powdered milk, water, sugar, and hot sauce. His characters are nuanced and sympathetic, despite their obvious flaws.

The Graybar Hotel is "well-written and worth reading for Dawkins's craft and insight, but it's also an occasion to consider an industry that has little to do with rehabilitation, and that makes it nearly impossible for its participants to recuperate their lives" (Chicago Tribune). Dawkins is an extraordinary writer with a knack for metaphor who gives voice to the experience of perhaps the most overlooked members of our society. "His prison stories are insightful and well written, and they ring true. Dawkins possesses the acquired wisdom of a man who's been there, done that and, unfortunately, is staying there" (Houston Chronicle).

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    July 4, 2017

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781508236399
      • File size: 143105 KB
      • Duration: 04:58:08

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      February 15, 2018

      Although the "Son of Sam" law prohibited criminals from profiting from their crimes by writing books or creating other crime-based entertainment, the Supreme Court struck down the law in 1991 citing First Amendment violations. Decades later, Dawkins, a convicted murderer serving life without parole, received a six-figure book deal. Armed with an MFA (earned before prison; he thanks Elizabeth McCracken and Kent Haruf as former teachers) and having served 13 years thus far, Dawkins relays tales from the titular "graybar hotel." He confronts suicide in "County," abject loneliness in "A Human Number," unreliable relationships in "Sunshine," mental illness in "Daytime Drama," identity in "573543" (Dawkins's prison ID), and release in "Leche Quemada." Pete Simonelli's deadpan delivery underscores the anonymity, tedium, and desolation that looms over the 14 pieces. VERDICT Prurient interest aside, Richard Ford and Denis Johnson fans will find resonance in Dawkins's collection. ["What's freshest and most surprising here is Dawkins's absolute focus on the humanity of those behind bars... A fully realized debut": LJ 5/1/17 starred review of the Scribner hc.]--Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon, Washington, DC

      Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Curtis Dawkins's debut collection of prison-focused short stories makes for an ideal audiobook, allowing the listener to savor each work. Narrator Pete Simonelli has an ideal voice, with just enough gruffness to deliver the material, which draws on Dawkins's unconventional background as a convicted murderer serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Dawkins also has an MFA in creative writing, and his skills are equally apparent. Simonelli's performance weaves the stories together in a way that creates an even greater sense of continuity. He uses the diversity of the material to create unique characters whose voices and personalities demonstrate the realities of prison life, including the remorse many inmates feel, as well as the desperation and hopelessness that are part of day-to-day life behind bars. D.J.S. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      May 29, 2017
      Set mostly in jails and prisons—the author is himself serving a sentence of life without parole—the 14 stories in this debut collection give a fascinating human dimension to the lives of prisoners and the world that they inhabit. In “A Human Number,” the convict narrator discovers that his random phone calls from jail reach outsiders who are as desperate as he is to communicate with another person. The narrator of “573543” ponders the fate foreordained for prisoners who inherit their identifying numbers from previously deceased inmates. “In the Dayroom with Stinky” sets the tone for its portrait of an eccentric prisoner with the narrator’s bracingly honest admission, “Most of my friends have killed someone.” Dawkins’s tales impress with the authenticity of real-life experience, and his prose is rich in metaphor and imagery—as when he describes one prisoner’s arraignment as “his courtroom wedding to the state of Michigan, till death do you part,” and how the fogged-up windows of a prison transport van “effectively erased us” from the outside world. His often wryly amusing observations about the routines of prison life make him a striking guide for navigating the terrain.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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