When Prisoners Come Home

出版者:Oxford University Press, USA

作者:Joan Petersilia

页数:288

出版时间:2003-03-20

价格:USD 39.99

装帧:Hardcover

isbn号码:9780195160864

具体描述

In 2003, well over half a million jailed Americans will leave prison and return to society. Largely uneducated, unskilled, often without family support, and with the stigma of a prison record hanging over them, many if not most will experience serious social and psychological problems after release. Fewer than one in three prisoners receive substance abuse or mental health treatment while incarcerated, and each year fewer and fewer participate in the dwindling number of vocational or educational pre-release programs, leaving many all but unemployable. Not surprisingly, the great majority is rearrested, most within six months of their release. What happens when all those sent down the river come back up--and out?L As long as there have been prisons, society has struggled with how best to help prisoners reintegrate once released. But the current situation is unprecedented. As a result of the quadrupling of the American prison population in the last quarter century, the number of returning offenders dwarfs anything in America's history. What happens when a large percentage of inner-city men, mostly Black and Hispanic, are regularly extracted, imprisoned, and then returned a few years later in worse shape and with dimmer prospects than when they committed the crime resulting in their imprisonment? What toll does this constant "churning" exact on a community? And what do these trends portend for public safety? A crisis looms, and the criminal justice and social welfare system is wholly unprepared to confront it.L Drawing on dozens of interviews with inmates, former prisoners, and prison officials, Joan Petersilia convincingly shows us how the current system is failing, and failing badly. Unwilling merely to sound the alarm, Petersilia explores the harsh realities of prisoner reentry and offers specific solutions to prepare inmates for release, reduce recidivism, and restore them to full citizenship, while never losing sight of the demands of public safety.L As the number of ex-convicts in America continues to grow, their systemic marginalization threatens the very society their imprisonment was meant to protect. America spent the last decade debating who should go to prison and for how long. Now it's time to decide what to do when prisoners come home.

用户评价

这本书的哲学深度令人印象深刻，它并非只停留在表层的叙事层面，而是巧妙地探讨了关于自由、体制化以及人性的本质等宏大主题。作者似乎并不急于给出明确的答案，而是通过情节的推进，不断抛出尖锐的问题，迫使读者进行反思。我特别喜欢作者在描述那些体制内部的灰色地带时所展现出的那种冷静而克制的笔触，没有过度的煽情，却比任何呐喊都更有力量。几次关键的对话场景，简直可以单独拎出来作为文学研究的范本，那种看似平淡实则蕴含巨大信息量的交流方式，体现了极高的写作技巧。它成功地避开了说教的陷阱，而是让读者自己在人物的困境中去寻找共鸣和理解。读完后，我花了很长时间才从那种思辨的状态中抽离出来，这本书的后劲实在太大了，它改变了我看待某些社会现象的角度。

这本书的叙事节奏简直让人欲罢不能！从一开始，作者就构建了一个充满张力的世界观，人物的动机和彼此间的复杂关系交织在一起，扑朔迷离。我尤其欣赏作者在细节处理上的精妙，那些不经意间透露出的信息，往往在故事后期才揭示出惊人的重要性，让人不禁拍案叫绝。读到中间部分，那种层层递进的悬念感达到了顶峰，我甚至忍不住放下手中的其他事情，一口气读到了凌晨。角色的成长弧线处理得极其真实，没有那种突兀的“开挂”式转变，而是经历了挣扎、妥协与顿悟，让人感同身受。那种深入骨髓的孤独感和对自我身份的追寻，通过极其生动的意象和对话展现出来，让人在阅读时仿佛自己也置身于那个困境之中。作者的文字功底深厚，对场景的描绘细致入微，光影的运用、声音的捕捉，都让整个故事的画面感呼之欲出，读起来完全不像是在看文字，更像是在观看一部精心剪辑的电影。这种沉浸式的体验，是近些年来我阅读的众多作品中少有的。

从文学技法的角度来看，这本书的实验性非常强。作者大胆地运用了多重叙事视角，而且每个视角的声音都具有极高的辨识度，这在展现事件全貌的同时，也展示了“真相”是如何被不同的经历和立场所扭曲和构建的。我特别留意到作者在不同章节之间切换时，对于语气的微调——有时是新闻报道式的客观冷峻，有时又是日记体的私密自白，这种切换极大地丰富了阅读体验。虽然故事的主题略显沉重，但作者并未完全沉溺于黑暗，偶尔出现的黑色幽默或对人性的微小善意的捕捉，都像是在阴霾中透出的一缕光亮，让人在绝望中看到希望的微茫。这种平衡拿捏得非常到位，使得整部作品在厚重之余，不至于让人感到窒息。

这本书的魅力在于它的“气场”。它不像那些情节驱动型的小说那样追求快速的冲突爆发，而是通过一种缓慢、沉郁的氛围来逐步渗透和影响读者。阅读的过程更像是一场缓慢的侵蚀，你感觉自己被逐渐拉入一个密闭的空间，空气越来越稀薄，最终不得不面对核心的矛盾。我尤其欣赏作者对“沉默”的使用，很多重要的信息和情感都不是通过直接的对话来表达，而是通过角色之间的凝视、停顿和环境的寂静来传达。这种“留白”的处理，极大地激发了读者的想象力和参与感，因为你必须自己去填补那些未言明的空白。读完合上书本的那一刻，我感到一种巨大的疲惫，但同时又有一种被彻底洗涤过的清晰感，这本书确实是近年来少有的，能够对读者产生持久影响力的作品。

这是一本极其考验耐心的作品，但回报是丰厚的。作者的语言风格偏向于意识流和碎片化的叙事结构，初读时可能会感到有些迷失，因为它拒绝提供传统意义上的清晰指引。然而，一旦你适应了这种独特的叙事韵律，就会发现这种“打乱的时间线”正是为了模拟角色内心混乱和记忆破碎的状态。那些看似不连贯的段落，实际上是在用一种更深层次的逻辑将情感和事件串联起来。我特别欣赏作者对环境声音和心理活动描摹的交替运用，环境的压抑感和内心世界的翻腾形成了强烈的对比和烘托。更值得一提的是，这本书的配角塑造得同样立体饱满，每一个次要人物都有其存在的必然性，他们的命运与主角紧密缠绕，共同构筑了一个复杂的情感网络，使得整个故事的立体感油然而生。