You’ve got to love a book that begins “Pimps make the best librarians.” and I did. After Avi Steinberg gave up the Yeshiva for Harvard his main goal was finding a job with medical benefits. Writing obituaries was fun for awhile, but the pay was lousy as were the benefits, so when Avi saw an ad for a second shift prison librarian at a prison library he figured this was something he could do. He is hired despite his lack of library degree and given very little introduction before he found himself in charge of the afternoon/evening shift at the prison library, including several inmate employees and a women’s inmate writing group. As Avi spends his days learning his job, learning about the prison culture and learning each inmate’s story. He finds himself thinking about his life, his drifting away from his Orthodox upbringing, and his relationship with girlfriend Kayla as he spends time with men and women who have nothing but time. He marvels at their resourcefulness and their often upbeat take on their situations, always hoping for something that will help improve things for them or help them find a way to secure their freedom. With wry, insightful observations, Avi learns how to play the game, but then wonders if he really wants to.
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