The Wing Oderly's Tale — Carlo Gebler

An instantly striking portrait of life inside a Northern Ireland prison. Composed of nine linked stories, each tale is narrated by Harry `Chalky' Chalkman, an intelligent, street-wise and sensitive wing orderly (a prison inmate charged with the maintenance of order and cleanliness) serving a twelve-year sentence for Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm. Through Gbler's pitch-perfect dialogue and deep understanding of his characters, a world emerges that is full of contradiction and injustice, but not without warmth, humour and true human feeling. At times hilarious, violent, tender, and enlightening, The Wing Orderly's Tales is a major new work by one of Ireland's most important and critically lauded living writers. "A vivid portrayal of everyday life in the cruelest and harshest conditions, lace with a silver lining of humanity and the hope of redemption amid confinement and despair."--The Midwest Book Review "This work from distinguished Irish writer Gebler forms a cohesive and absorbing whole. . . By using language that's direct but understated, Gebler successfully depicts the bleak, violent prison world."--Library Journal