{"product_id":"the-graybar-hotel-9781786891136","title":"The Graybar Hotel","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eA man sits collect-calling strangers every day just to hear the sounds of the outside world; an inmate recalls his descent into addiction as his prison softball team gears up for an annual tournament; a prisoner is released and finds freedom more complex and baffling than he expected.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn this stunning debut story collection, Curtis Dawkins, who is currently serving a life sentence without parole, offers a glimpse into the reality of prison life through the eyes of the people who spend their days and years behind bars.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA debut collection that is compelling and real . . . Remarkable for its modesty, realism and humanity . . . He has produced a book that is not only moving and genuine, but genuinely important; one that, without resorting to shock tactics, powerfully conveys the perverse inhumanity of mass incarceration *  * Guardian *  *\u003cbr\u003eDawkins's speciality in his writing is as much the mundanity of prison life as the unexpected . . . An engrossing introduction to a stark universe that can only come as a shock to those who have to navigate it for the first time for real *  * Observer *  *\u003cbr\u003eA dazzling debut . . . The gritty, gripping and grimly comic stories . . . draw the reader in with the sweep of their humanity and empathy *  * Telegraph *  *\u003cbr\u003eIn each of his stories, he depicts the gritty reality of life caged up. Often unapologetic and always moving, Dawkins gives voice to a group of people forgotten by society *  * New Statesman *  *\u003cbr\u003eThis is an assured and ultimately humane collection . . . The prose is sparse and precise yet brimming with resonance and meaning, and there is a seam of deathly dark humour running through the stories. An impressive and authentic glimpse at a world most of us will thankfully never know *  * The Big Issue *  *\u003cbr\u003eThe effect is fascinating, like conveying the wonder of a fable with the force of a fist *  * Times Literary Supplement *  *\u003cbr\u003eThe stories in \u003ci\u003eThe Graybar Hotel \u003c\/i\u003eare astonishing, clever and true. It's the best collection I've read in a long, long time -- Roddy Doyle, author of the Booker Prize-winning PADDY CLARKE HA HA HA\u003cbr\u003eRarely have I read a book that takes you so vividly into a hinterland at once hellish and humane, brutal and tender. A literary testament to the indomitability of the human spirit and the primacy of the creative act -- John Niven, author of STRAIGHT WHITE MALE\u003cbr\u003eWith his first story collection, \u003ci\u003eThe Graybar Hotel\u003c\/i\u003e, Curtis Dawkins has given noir a new, darker niche . . . furiously funny, full of poetic punches and tinged with a surrealism born of doing time, killing time, despairing over time. He catches the taut rhythms and indigenous argot of inmates, as well as their fragile hopes and febrile dreams *  * The Big Issue *  *\u003cbr\u003eDawkins writes with emotional clarity and attention to detail\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e *  * Observer *  *","brand":"Canongate Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49412368892247,"sku":"9781786891136","price":9.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-graybar-hotel-9781786891136","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}