Chain-Gang All-Stars with Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Mon 10 Jul 2023
7:00pm at Mr B's Emporium of Reading Delights, 14-15 John St, Bath, BA1 2JL
Book + Ticket gives you a free ticket with a copy of the book, all tickets include 15% off any books purchased on the night, a glass of wine, author interview, Q&A and signing.
Other ways to book:
Email books@mrbsemporium.com, call 01225 331155 or pop into the shop at 14-15 John Street, Bath. BA1 2JL.
Join us as we welcome Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah to Mr B’s to discuss Chain-Gang All-Stars, one of the most extraordinary novels of the year.
We have been going wild for this unique and spectacular book, an incredibly inventive depiction of exploitation in the US prison system in a near-future US. Nana Kwame is also the author of Mr B’s favourite Friday Black, an audacious collection of speculative stories fuelled by cutting satire and dark humour. We can’t wait to hear him talk about Chain-Gang All-Stars, one of the most hyped books of 2023, and surely a contender for numerous top prizes.
About the book…
Welcome to Chain-Gang All-Stars, the popular and highly controversial programme inside America’s private prison system. In packed arenas, live-streamed by millions, prisoners compete as gladiators for the ultimate prize: their freedom. Fan favourites Loretta Thurwar and Hamara ‘Hurricane Staxxx’ Stacker are teammates and lovers.
Thurwar is nearing the end of her time on the circuit, free in just a few matches, a fact she carries as heavily as her lethal hammer. As she prepares for her final encounters, as protestors gather at the gates, and as the programme’s corporate owners stack the odds against her – will the price be simply too high?
From one of American fiction’s brightest stars, this is an electrifying, page-turning near-future dystopia perfect for fans of The Handmaid’s Tale, Squid Game, and Watchmen.
‘A revelation!’ TOMMY ORANGE
Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah is one of the most exciting young writers in America. His work is urgent, engaging, wildly entertaining, formally bold and politically electrifying. Read one page, any page, and you’ll see what I mean.” GEORGE SAUNDERS’
‘Beautiful and brutal, with a really furious social commentary underpinning it.’ INDEPENDENT
‘Adjei-Brenyah writes sharply about the economy of spectacle and the fickle alchemy between futility and hope.’ RAVEN LEILANI