The Mars Room

By Rachel Kushner

Categories: Literature & Fiction

Romy Hall, once a stripper at San Francisco's Mars Room, begins two consecutive life sentences at a women's prison in California's Central Valley. Rachel Kushner's 2018 novel moves between Romy's past on the street and her present inside, among inmates, guards and a prison teacher. Kushner writes about incarceration, poverty and how little room free choice can leave a person.

Recommended by 1 person

• Stephen King: “THE MARS ROOM, by Rachel Kushner. Most literary fiction doesn't last very long. This is going to be around. It's the real deal. Jarring, horrible, compassionate, funny. BTW, Kushner reads the audio, and knocks it out of the park.”