In his debut novel, Barker House, David Moloney uses years of experience working in the Department of Corrections to weave a compelling tale which follows the lives of nine correctional officers across a single year. Rookies and veterans, male and a lone female, these officers approach their jobs in diverse ways. As each chapter shifts in point-of-view from one officer to another throughout the jail, the reader follows along while those in power do everything from lending a literal shoulder to cry on to outright abusing the inmates. The minimal requirements to be an officer, an individual who is given an intimidating amount of power, are quite shocking. Some state their intention to stand strong in the policies and procedures they have been taught, while others appear corrupted or worn down after years of working such a taxing job. It quickly becomes clear that issues such as power and survival are critical for the correctional officers and inmates alike; that the relationships between the two are more nuanced and complex than one may at first imagine.
Moloney takes a unique approach to telling this story, giving the reader a glimpse into the personal lives of these characters alongside their daily work routines — lives often not so different from those who are incarcerated. After all, we each do what we must to get by. Daily interactions with the inmates trigger memories in the officers, reflections on their own lives. By taking this approach, Moloney explores humanity through the eyes of an oft overlooked population. (And I’m not talking about the inmates here.) He exposes a high-stress, high-stakes work environment and probes the ways humans respond to that pressure. He provides a subtle yet striking commentary on the criminal justice system, examining how it shapes the lives of those who keep it running as much as those it governs.
Through the series of vignettes composed here, Moloney sets forth a clear, yet unbiased narrative. He masterfully employs a compact style of writing, thoughts parsed and sentences carefully clipped; yet each character comes to life, flawed and complex in a very real way. Each chapter stronger than the last, Moloney shines most brightly in the scenes where he zooms in to capture one-on-one human interactions in their most honest, vulnerable, and even repulsive states. And in the end, this novel ultimately leaves the reader unsettled, contemplating a series of questions: What exactly is the difference that leads one to land inside the walls of a prison as opposed to standing guard over it? What has brought the American justice system to this point? And what needs to happen to repair it, for the sake of all involved?
Barker House is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers as of April 7th 2020. Thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing for providing an advance copy of this thought-provoking book. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
David Moloney worked in the Hillsborough County Department of Corrections, NH, from 2007 to 2011. He received a BA in English and creative writing from the University of Massachusetts Lowell, where he now teaches, and an MFA from Southern New Hampshire’s Mountainview low-residency program, where he won the Lynn Safford Memorial Prize. He lives in Massachusetts.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
“David Moloney’s Barker House follows the story of nine unforgettable New Hampshire correctional officers over the course of one year on the job. While veteran guards get by on what they consider survival strategies–including sadistic power-mongering and obsessive voyeurism–two rookies, including the only female officer on her shift, develop their own tactics for facing “the system.” Tracking their subtly intertwined lives, Barker House reveals the precarious world of the jailers, coming to a head when the unexpected death of one in their ranks brings them together.
Timely and universal, this masterfully crafted debut adds a new layer to discussions of America’s criminal justice system, and introduces a brilliant young literary talent.”
