Big Black: Stand at Attica

Big Black: Stand at Attica / Frank Smith & Jaren Reinmuth, 171 pgs.

A memoir by a man who was at the center of the prison riot at Attica in the 1970's resulting in death and mayhem.  A short takeover by prisoners who held guards hostages and demanded to be treated as humans was met with derision and a governor who would not back down.  Not wanting to be seen as weak, Nelson Rockefeller approved breaking up the stalemate with fire power.  Thirty nine inmates and hostages were killed.  Following the standoff, prisoners involved were beaten and tortured for a long time.  Frank Smith was one of those who suffered at the hands of prison guards and officials.  Within a short period of time, all charges were dropped against inmates when deaths were discovered to have been 100% at the hands of the troops that stored the prison.  A lawsuit settled many years later awarded a settlement to the prisoners.  Frank Smith continued to suffer from PTSD until his death in 2004. His legacy post prison was exemplary as he worked as an investigator, a drug counselor and became a notable prison reform activist. In a lot of ways this was a tough read.  Also, viewed from the lens of 2020, you wonder if things have changed.

The woman in the dunes

The woman in the dunes / Kobo Abe translated by E. Dale Saunders, 239 pgs.

A school teacher and amateur entomologist misses a bus and if forced to seek shelter in an odd sea-side town.  He lodges with a widow who lives at the bottom of a vast sand pit.  When he tries to leave the next day, it becomes apparent that the townspeople have other plans.  He is held captive in the pit with the woman who shovels away at the endlessly sifting sand.  He plots his escape but finds himself in a relationship and with a new understanding of the meaning of life.  Eerie and odd, I'm tempted to watch the movie of the same name to get a better feel for the endless shoveling.