The Harrowing Universe of Chain Gang All Stars

Simultaneously a searing indictment on the current state of incarceration in America and a dystopian vision of how bad it could get, Chain Gang All-Stars was a bleak creative triumph.

In Adjei-Brenyah’s vision of America, prisoners sentenced to the death penalty have the “opportunity” to join a program called CAPE. CAPE, which stands for “Criminal Action Penal Entertainment” is an arm of a big corporation that runs America’s prison systems, largely privatized in this vision of the future. The crown jewel in CAPE’s programming is a show called Chain Gang All-Stars, a televised reality series wherein prisoners sentenced to the death are given the chance to fight for their freedom. The caveat? They have to fight each other. To the death. The fights are televised as part of the structured reality TV program, which explores the “links” (the word for those in different chains partaking in the program)—and the show has a massive fanbase, millions strong.

We meet the prisoners who partake—we learn how they got there, why they joined CAPE, and, more importantly, who they are beyond the crime they’ve committed. It’s a work of fiction, but it’s also peppered with footnotes that contain affecting real-life statistics on incarceration in America.

We also see the spectators of Chain Gang All-Stars attempt to rationalize their obsession with the brutal blood sport. We sit in on the corporation board meetings where they discuss the program’s “importance,” and we hear from people who inadvertently contributed to the program before realizing they played a role.

It’s powerful, intense, creative, and desolate—certainly not light reading, but it’s the type of book everyone should read.

If you liked it, some other recs:

Non-fiction: Just Mercy, Hood Feminism (read these years ago, still deeply affecting)

Fiction: Transcendent Kingdom, Girl, Woman, Other (two all-time faves), Yellowface