“Chapman establishes himself as a master of wit, satire, and heart.”—Apple Books
“[A] gritty, bracing debut.”—Esquire
“Dazzling...Supremely mischievous and sublimely written.”—Publishers Weekly(starred review)
An unnamed Sri Lankan inmate has barricaded himself inside a prison computer lab in Dutchess County, New York. A riot rages outside, incited by a poem published inThe Holding Pen,the house literary journal. This, our narrator’s final Editor’s Letter, is his confession.An official accounting of events, as they happened.
As he awaits imminent and violent interruption, he takes us on a roller coaster ride of plot and language, determined to share his life story, and maybe answer a few questions. How did he end up here? Should he have remained a quiet Park Avenue doorman? Or continued his rise in the black markets of postwar Sri Lanka? What will become ofThe Holding Pen, a “masterpiece of post-penal literature” favored by Brooklynites everywhere? And why does everyone think the riots are his fault? Can’t they see he’s really a good guy, doing it for the right reasons?
Smart, wry, and laugh-out-loud funny, Ryan Chapman’sRiots I Have Knownis an utter gem—an approachable send-up that packs a punch. Alexandra Kleeman, author ofYou Too Can Have a Body Like Mine, says, “Ryan Chapman has written a rocket-powered ode to literary creation and mass incarceration. Weaving satire and seriousness into a singularly rambunctious monologue,Riots I Have Knownis a breath of fresh air.”
