The Mars Room

12.65

Romy Hall is at the start of two consecutive life sentences, plus six years, at Stanville Women’s Correctional Facility. Outside is the world from which she has been permanently severed: the San Francisco of her youth, changed almost beyond recognition. The Mars Room strip club where she once gave lap dances for a living. And her seven-year-old son, Jackson, now in the care of Romy’s estranged mother. Inside is a new reality to adapt to: thousands of women hustling for the bare essentials needed to survive. These are the deadpan absurdities of institutional living, which Kushner details with humour and precision.

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SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A fearless and heartbreaking novel about love, friendship and incarceration, from the author of the internationally acclaimed The Flamethrowers.

‘Astounding? this year’s must-read’ ANNE ENRIGHT

Romy Hall is starting two consecutive life sentences at Stanville Women’s Correctional Facility. Her crime? The killing of her stalker.

Inside awaits a world where women must hustle and fight for the bare essentials. Outside: the San Francisco of her youth. The Mars Room strip club where she was once a dancer. Her seven-year-old son, Jackson.

As Romy forms friendships over liquor brewed in socks and stories shared through sewage pipes her future seems to unfurl in one long, unwavering line – until news from beyond the prison bars forces Romy to try and outrun her destiny.

* Pre-order Rachel Kushner’s new novel, Creation Lake, now *

‘Breathtaking’ VOGUE

‘One of our most outstanding modern writers’ STYLIST

‘Gritty, empathetic, finely rendered’ MARGARET ATWOOD (on Twitter)

Last date for ordering to guarantee arrival is Saturday, 21st of December. Dismiss