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The Prison House is the sixth novel by John King. It was first published in 2004 by Jonathan Cape and subsequently in paperback by Vintage. The Cape edition carries the following endorsement by Brian Keenan, author of An Evil Cradling, based on Keenan's four years as a hostage in Beirut during the 1980s: "With a brutally brilliant imagination, The Prison House takes you to a place where angels fear to tread. Go there and be redeemed."
The story's main character is a young man called Jimmy who, after a period of time travelling and drifting around Europe, finds himself incarcerated in Seven Towers, a notorious prison in an unnamed country on the continent's edge. Although he has always been an outsider, he is now a fully-fledged alien who doesn't understand the language or the customs of the other inmates. The prison is squalid, violent, and frightening; his only way of escaping this living nightmare is via his imagination.
As Jimmy delves into the depths of his mind, his thoughts take on a sometimes-hallucinogenic quality. The characters he meets inside Seven Towers push his sanity to the brink: the silent, pyjama-clad Papa with his deadly knitting needle; the cheerful killer and mutilator known as the Butcher; and Dumb Dumb, a deaf-mute who is trying to build a better world out of matchsticks. But Jimmy is determined to survive, and the novel is ultimately a testament to the strength of the human spirit.
Jimmy's crime is not revealed until the end of the book. Various dark possibilities are dangled in front of the reader until the crucial event that has destabilised his existence is laid bare. The seven towers of the jail are matched to the seven deadly sins, and King has said the story "deals with the choice between retribution and rehabilitation – notions of birth and innocence."[1]
Receptionedit
Writing in The Independent column "A Week in Books", Boyd Tonkin argued that The Prison House confirmed King as "an adventurous avant-garde novelist" and that "the sheer virtuosity of his language overflows with a richness of invention that propels the reader through even the most gruelling ordeals." He continued: "In this literary jail, the ghost of Kafka shares a cell with the shade of Burroughs. An epigraph quotes Jack London on the infant 'born with fear'. Behind this passage lies Wordsworth's 'Intimations of Immortality' ode, where 'Shades of the prison-house begin to close/ Upon the growing boy'."[2]
In his review, The Guardian's Josh Lacey said: "King writes with a straightforward, aggressive intelligence that is perfectly suited to his subject matter, and his frenzied descriptions are exhilarating. He is also an unusually serious novelist – serious both about the form itself, and the reasons for reading and writing."[3]The Big Issue called The Prison House "a compelling, impressive read" and King "perhaps the most passionately liberal writer in Britain today."[citation needed]
Referencesedit
^. www.laurahird.com. Archived from the original on 16 November 2004.
^Boyd Tonkin, The Prison House review, The Independent (via London Books). 23 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine
^Josh Lacey, "Inside story", The Guardian, 26 June 2004.
External linksedit
Review: Journey Into the Depths of the Night
John King author interview
Marianne Peyronnet review and interview
December 18, 2023
prison, house, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, . This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources The Prison House news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article relies largely or entirely on a single source Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources Find sources The Prison House news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2022 This article possibly contains original research Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations Statements consisting only of original research should be removed March 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message The Prison House is the sixth novel by John King It was first published in 2004 by Jonathan Cape and subsequently in paperback by Vintage The Cape edition carries the following endorsement by Brian Keenan author of An Evil Cradling based on Keenan s four years as a hostage in Beirut during the 1980s With a brutally brilliant imagination The Prison House takes you to a place where angels fear to tread Go there and be redeemed The Prison HouseFirst editionAuthorJohn KingCountryEnglandLanguageEnglishPublished2004PublisherJonathan Cape VintageMedia typePrintPreceded byWhite Trash Followed bySkinheads Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Reception 3 References 4 External linksSynopsis editThe story s main character is a young man called Jimmy who after a period of time travelling and drifting around Europe finds himself incarcerated in Seven Towers a notorious prison in an unnamed country on the continent s edge Although he has always been an outsider he is now a fully fledged alien who doesn t understand the language or the customs of the other inmates The prison is squalid violent and frightening his only way of escaping this living nightmare is via his imagination As Jimmy delves into the depths of his mind his thoughts take on a sometimes hallucinogenic quality The characters he meets inside Seven Towers push his sanity to the brink the silent pyjama clad Papa with his deadly knitting needle the cheerful killer and mutilator known as the Butcher and Dumb Dumb a deaf mute who is trying to build a better world out of matchsticks But Jimmy is determined to survive and the novel is ultimately a testament to the strength of the human spirit Jimmy s crime is not revealed until the end of the book Various dark possibilities are dangled in front of the reader until the crucial event that has destabilised his existence is laid bare The seven towers of the jail are matched to the seven deadly sins and King has said the story deals with the choice between retribution and rehabilitation notions of birth and innocence 1 Reception editWriting in The Independent column A Week in Books Boyd Tonkin argued that The Prison House confirmed King as an adventurous avant garde novelist and that the sheer virtuosity of his language overflows with a richness of invention that propels the reader through even the most gruelling ordeals He continued In this literary jail the ghost of Kafka shares a cell with the shade of Burroughs An epigraph quotes Jack London on the infant born with fear Behind this passage lies Wordsworth s Intimations of Immortality ode where Shades of the prison house begin to close Upon the growing boy 2 In his review The Guardian s Josh Lacey said King writes with a straightforward aggressive intelligence that is perfectly suited to his subject matter and his frenzied descriptions are exhilarating He is also an unusually serious novelist serious both about the form itself and the reasons for reading and writing 3 The Big Issue called The Prison House a compelling impressive read and King perhaps the most passionately liberal writer in Britain today citation needed References edit John King interviewed on the official website of writer Laura Hhird www laurahird com Archived from the original on 16 November 2004 Boyd Tonkin The Prison House review The Independent via London Books Archived 23 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine Josh Lacey Inside story The Guardian 26 June 2004 External links editReview Journey Into the Depths of the Night John King author interview Marianne Peyronnet review and interview Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Prison House amp oldid 1099749026, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
