Very straightforward writing about nine correction officers who offer the behind the scenes of what goes on . Really well told by a new author that I want to see more of. Fascinating and compelling. Happy reading!

A series of interconnected stories about correctional officers at a county jail in New Hampshire. There is a contrast between the dread of incarceration and the dread of being free. While the writing is evocative and very descriptive,I found it to be somewhat unsatisfying since there is no resolution to most of the characters' stories, whether they are COs or inmates. The narrative is very brutal at times - I will be careful about who I recommend this to since not everyone will be able to stomach the level of violence.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC in return for a review.

It's a world that most people never enter willingly - the American penal institution - yet the men and women of David Moloney's Barker House enter the walls of this New Hampshire prison by choice day in and day out. Theirs are the only free faces the inmates of the Barker House see on a regular basis. The people tasked with trying to bring order to chaos in an environment that thrives on anarchy and dysfunction. Theirs is a thankless job, but someone has got to do it. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the correctional officers of the Barker House prison.

David Moloney cracks open the dark and dingy world of corrections in his debut novel Barker House, set to be published in April 2020. Moloney, a former correctional officer for the state of New Hampshire, is just writing what he knows ... and write he does well. Barker House is a novel of unsettling vignettes; little darkened glimpses into the personal and professional lives of correctional officers. Told in short snippets, each story focuses on a Barker House CO and his or her unit assignment and what goes on there. These stories are everything that you would expect in a novel about corrections and all the things that you wouldn't at the same time. Moloney's descriptions of life behind the bars and barbed wire is abrupt and abrasive, the inmates crude and crass. But perhaps the most revealing and voyeuristic aspect of this novel is not to be found in the actual corrections work, but in the correctional officers themselves.

Moloney's Barker House correctional officers are the men and women who will forever be looked down upon both by society and the inmates they supervise as being not good enough to be a "real cop." They are the bottom feeders of the justice system, and their lives are both ordinary and extraordinary at the same time. Barker House is comprised of a motley crew of employees, who for whatever reason, decided that keeping watch over society's degenerates was their best option in life. Or not. Because scattered among this group of people are feelings of resentment and loss; no sense of pride or accomplishment; a collection of lost and unhappy souls.

The Barker House COs are a mixed bag of good and bad; dirty and decent; satisfied and hapless. There are those who get their kicks off of making life for the inmates a living hell, denying them of any little dignities they may have left, and invading the small amount of space and privacy they have, There are others who turn a blind eye to inmate misdeeds and schemes, hoping that if they have the inmates' backs, the inmates will remember and someday have theirs. And then there are those who are criminals themselves, just as guilty as the inmates they supervise and look down upon.

Barker House is not an uplifting book, but you didn't expect it to be, did you? No, this novel is as revelatory as it is addictive, dredging up all the uncomfortable thoughts and feelings that we keep pushed down and suppressed from view for fear of judgment. This book is raw and honest, an unflinching, unflattering portrayal of a job no one wants to do, but must be done. I anticipate it to be one of the more unique and thought-provoking novels of the year. Barker House comes highly recommended for lovers of literary fiction - Moloney has a way with words, twisting up everything grotesque and ugly, and shaping it into something hauntingly beautiful to while away the hours.

In the form of writing what you know a former corrections officer wrote a book about correction officers. Specifically, nine of them over the course of one year on the job. Told via a format of interconnected short stories, this novel delivers a sort of thoroughly bleak realism some of the tougher slice of life fiction tends to go for. Which is to say, it’s a depressing, sad and very well reviewed read. In fact, the book begins with pages and pages of praise lavishes from respectable sources and authors, complete with an assortment of favorable comparisons. It’s all so promising and ambitions…and to be fair, it is a good book in its own way. It’s well written and it has the kind of unflinchingly honest straightforwardness of storytelling that works for the story. But you really have to be in the mood for this sort of thing, it isn’t Orange is the New Black. It’s all one sustained sad note throughout. The kind of working class sad realism I’ve come to associate with Dan Chaon, but for me it wasn’t nearly as engaging. In fact, that was the main thing, just didn’t care that much about anyone in the book, including the lone female protagonist, and all their lives of quiet desperation just seems to distant somehow. I was able to intellectually appreciate the effort, but emotionally it just didn’t grab me. The overall effect too…I don’t know, too masculine? not intricate enough, not elaborate enough. Just tough men doing tough jobs within a tough system. Fascinating glimpse inside a culture from an insider, unquestionably, if that’s what you’re after, but for an engaging work of literary fiction it won’t have the same easy appeal. This one is very much one of those user mileage may vary reads. I did like how quickly it read, one sitting straight through session from 8 to 11 in the morning (weird way to begin the day, for sure), but about as long as I would want to spend with this a book this stark and gloomy. Thanks Netgalley.

An extremely dramatic read. It is a hard core look through the eyes of prison guards, the prisoners the work with and the system they have to work within. All the guards stories show some of their lives and then interconnect with the prison. It's quite unsentimental and straight black and white, which I feel would be better suited writing for a non-fiction rather than fiction. Dry yet interesting.

This was a great book. It gave real insight into the prison system. Especially those who work within the system. I have always thought of correction officers as one step below policeman. All the characters we followed in this book seem to be down and out in their own way. Excellent character portrayal. My only complaint was that at times I got the characters confused. Is it possible they age needed a little bit more depth? I enjoyed this book. I believe we will be hearing a lot about this book when it is published, and I look forward to other books by David Moloney. Thank you for my advance copy. I will be recommending this book to friends and family who are serious readers and have an appreciation for an intelligent novel.

The description describes this as "unsentimental" which is apt. The story will likely stick with readers for a while since the characters are memorable and it's nearly impossible to read it without feeling some strong emotions. Recommended for a dramatic read.

Thanks very much for the ARC for review!!

This was a tough one to rate. Having worked in Corrections, I’m familiar with the “culture”. This certainly had well-written snapshots of the dysfunctional subset of those working in the field. My concern for the uninitiated...believing that every male C.O. is brutal and every female is either a lesbian or using her sexuality on the job.

Barker House by David Moloney
Thank you to Bloomsbury and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on April 7th, 2020.

A set of interconnected stories as told by prison guards in New Hampshire’s Barker County Correctional Facility or “The House.” Each unfolds specific events, though the import of the story comes not from the events themselves but from what they uncover about the life of the person telling the story: a sexual attraction, a fellow officer’s suicide, a softball game between law enforcement branches, the attempted suicide of an inmate, the processing of an accused child killer, etc.

This is way outside of my comfort zone — everything I’ve ever learned about prison comes from documentaries, bad TV shows, and sensationalized news stories — all with their own agenda. I liked this book because it didn’t appear to come with any specific political agenda — the focus was far more on individual lives. And there were no real stereotypes — each guard is a distinct human being with his/her own motivations, coping mechanisms, and personal context. Some are withdrawn, some mean, some afraid. Many are dealing with their own personal issues while trying to maintain an acceptable demeanor. Not your typical adventure story, it’s all character. It also includes fascinating descriptions of typical days in a correctional facility from the perspective of those who run it: the tiers, transportation, property management, and booking. I have no idea how accurate it is, but I found it fascinating and full of depth. Couldn’t put it down.