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A Child Out of Alcatraz
A little girl lives with her family in a picturesque seaside community near San Francisco. An American neighborhood like any other, sheltered in the seeming tranquillity of the 1950s. Except it exists on the island of Alcatraz, the Rock, where a looming cellhouse imprisons the most vicious and irredeemable of America's criminals.
Olivia grows up here and watches as her family slowly falls apart, trapped in its own prison rules and silences. She watches the disintegration of her mother, a brilliant woman isolated in a role that closes in on her as inexorably as the metallic crash of any cell door. Olivia can only watch, and retreat into herself, for she's only a little girl; there's no escape for her from the island she calls home.
Olivia grows up here and watches as her family slowly falls apart, trapped in its own prison rules and silences. She watches the disintegration of her mother, a brilliant woman isolated in a role that closes in on her as inexorably as the metallic crash of any cell door. Olivia can only watch, and retreat into herself, for she's only a little girl; there's no escape for her from the island she calls home.
266 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 1997
4 people are currently reading
421 people want to read
About the author
Tara Ison
14 books65 followersTara Ison is the author of the short story collection BALL, the novels THE LIST, ROCKAWAY, and A CHILD OUT OF ALCATRAZ, a Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Awards. Her essay collection REELING THROUGH LIFE was the winner of the 2015 PEN Southwest Award for Creative Nonfiction.
Her novel of WWII Vichy France, AT THE HOUR BETWEEN DOG AND WOLF, will be published in February 2023.
Her short fiction, essays, poetry and book reviews have appeared in Tin House, BOMB, Salon, O, the Oprah Magazine, The Kenyon Review, Nerve.com, Black Clock, Publisher's Weekly, The Week magazine, The Mississippi Review, LA Weekly, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Chicago Tribune, the San Jose Mercury News, and numerous anthologies. She is also the co-writer of the movie Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead.
She is the recipient of a 2008 NEA Creative Writing Fellowship and a 2008 COLA Individual Artist Grant, as well as multiple Yaddo fellowships and Pushcart Prize nominations, a Rotary Foundation Scholarship for International Study, a Brandeis National Women's Committee Award, a Thurber House Fiction Writer-in-Residence Fellowship, the Simon Blattner Fellowship from Northwestern University, and a California Arts Council Artists' Fellowship Award.
Ison received her MFA in Fiction & Literature from Bennington College. She has taught creative writing at Washington University in St. Louis, Northwestern University, Ohio State University, Goddard College, Antioch University Los Angeles, and UC Riverside Palm Desert's MFA in Creative Writing program. She is currently Assistant Professor of Fiction at Arizona State University."
Her novel of WWII Vichy France, AT THE HOUR BETWEEN DOG AND WOLF, will be published in February 2023.
Her short fiction, essays, poetry and book reviews have appeared in Tin House, BOMB, Salon, O, the Oprah Magazine, The Kenyon Review, Nerve.com, Black Clock, Publisher's Weekly, The Week magazine, The Mississippi Review, LA Weekly, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Chicago Tribune, the San Jose Mercury News, and numerous anthologies. She is also the co-writer of the movie Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead.
She is the recipient of a 2008 NEA Creative Writing Fellowship and a 2008 COLA Individual Artist Grant, as well as multiple Yaddo fellowships and Pushcart Prize nominations, a Rotary Foundation Scholarship for International Study, a Brandeis National Women's Committee Award, a Thurber House Fiction Writer-in-Residence Fellowship, the Simon Blattner Fellowship from Northwestern University, and a California Arts Council Artists' Fellowship Award.
Ison received her MFA in Fiction & Literature from Bennington College. She has taught creative writing at Washington University in St. Louis, Northwestern University, Ohio State University, Goddard College, Antioch University Los Angeles, and UC Riverside Palm Desert's MFA in Creative Writing program. She is currently Assistant Professor of Fiction at Arizona State University."
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
October 17, 2012
Vivian once had dreams about being a scientist but she left college before she graduated to get married to Arthur Thorton. Fast forward to 1945 and they are living on Alcatraz Island where Art is working as a correctional officer at the prison and Vivian is a stay-at-home mom to their three children. Life on the island is rather normal for the officer’s families who live there; they have parties on the dock, dances at the Social Hall, clubs to join, they have their own post office, and a little island store…just a regular neighborhood. But Vivian is unhappy and she can’t help but to wonder is this all there is to life? She would love more than anything to find a job in the city and work outside the home but unfortunately, her husband doesn’t support this decision and his view mirrors that of society, a woman’s role is to be a wife and mother and she shouldn’t want more than that for herself so Vivian feels powerless to seek out something that would make her life more fulfilling. As a result, life on the island becomes unbearable for Vivian and this has devastating consequences to her marriage.
The format of this book is interesting; the author alternates each chapter between telling the story about the Thorton family and providing history about Alcatraz Prison so in essence, you are reading two stories parallel to one another. There were times that I enjoyed reading the facts and background about Alcatraz Prison because I found it interesting but then there were other times that I just wanted to skim thru this section and get back to the story because I was anxious to find out what was happening with the family from where the story left off the last time. All in all, I thought it was a pretty good book for a first time novelist. I give it 4 stars.
The format of this book is interesting; the author alternates each chapter between telling the story about the Thorton family and providing history about Alcatraz Prison so in essence, you are reading two stories parallel to one another. There were times that I enjoyed reading the facts and background about Alcatraz Prison because I found it interesting but then there were other times that I just wanted to skim thru this section and get back to the story because I was anxious to find out what was happening with the family from where the story left off the last time. All in all, I thought it was a pretty good book for a first time novelist. I give it 4 stars.
August 23, 2008
Beautiful, haunting, irreverent, and at times heart-breakingly funny. Tara Ison writes in beautiful descriptive prose. She weaves historical facts and human frailties, mitigating phobias and unspoken prejudices. A story told in multiple voices and points of view that lets the reader in to secrets we already know because they are much like our own.
October 16, 2012
This was certainly not the book I expected but in someways it was better. Thinking it would be more about the prison I found instead a heartfelt story about a family who lived on the island and how the isolation affected everyone. A young girl watches her mother slowly lose sight of who she is. This is a story that will stay with you for a long time. I won this from LibraryThing Members Giveaway and I recommend this book.
November 23, 2023
Unique story focusing on a mother and a daughter living on Alcatraz Island during the time it was a working prison. I could tell a lot of research went into writing this novel.
February 18, 2016
I love a good story that takes you back in time a reveals a place from a perspective completely unexpected. Tara Ison brilliantly weaves the lives of this problematic family with the historically huge presence of life at Alctraz and all that entails. It is wonderfully descriptive from this young girls eyes how hard life can be in dysfunctional family set against the backdrop so beautifully similar in a prison. Great book. Love to read it again sometime. *** Please note I received this book for free from Goodreads First-reads.
May 9, 2023
This was a fairly fast and easy read. I enjoyed although the plot wasn’t very strong. There were a couple times I thought parts of the story could have been expanded to make it more engaging. Still, I recommend it as a nice story about a girl becoming her own self. I liked the parallels between the daughter and mother at the end, and the girls closure with her father and life on the island.
November 19, 2012
Review first published on my blog: http://memoriesfrombooks.blogspot.com...
A Child Out of Alcatraz is the story of Olivia and her family and a story of Alcatraz, the place and the prison. Olivia's father is a prison guard at Alcatraz. Her mother Vivien seems to be caught in a life that she feels captive in. Through flashbacks, we learn that she idealistically stepped into a marriage that did not lead to a life she envisioned. The promises and dreams differ greatly from the reality. The reality becomes a demanding husband, children, and an isolated life on Alcatraz. Told through Olivia's eyes, the story is one of Vivien's descent further and further into the despair of her life and the effects it has on Olivia.
This book tells two stories - one the fictional account of Olivia and one the true history of Alcatraz. The author provide many accounts of historical events seamlessly incorporating the characters through the story. It almost gives the book the tone and voice of a memoir.
Olivia's story is a heart wrenching one. A young child is forced to grow up too fast both because of where she lives and because her mother cannot "mother" her. My heart reaches out to her, wanting to protect and shelter her from the reality of her life. The character of Vivien is at times a sympathetic one because of the situation she finds herself in. However, because of some of her choices particularly towards her children, the sympathy wears thin after a while.
Overall, a beautiful debut novel which makes you care about the characters and what happens to them. I look forward to reading more from Tara Ison.
*** Reviewed for the LibraryThing Member Giveaway Program***
A Child Out of Alcatraz is the story of Olivia and her family and a story of Alcatraz, the place and the prison. Olivia's father is a prison guard at Alcatraz. Her mother Vivien seems to be caught in a life that she feels captive in. Through flashbacks, we learn that she idealistically stepped into a marriage that did not lead to a life she envisioned. The promises and dreams differ greatly from the reality. The reality becomes a demanding husband, children, and an isolated life on Alcatraz. Told through Olivia's eyes, the story is one of Vivien's descent further and further into the despair of her life and the effects it has on Olivia.
This book tells two stories - one the fictional account of Olivia and one the true history of Alcatraz. The author provide many accounts of historical events seamlessly incorporating the characters through the story. It almost gives the book the tone and voice of a memoir.
Olivia's story is a heart wrenching one. A young child is forced to grow up too fast both because of where she lives and because her mother cannot "mother" her. My heart reaches out to her, wanting to protect and shelter her from the reality of her life. The character of Vivien is at times a sympathetic one because of the situation she finds herself in. However, because of some of her choices particularly towards her children, the sympathy wears thin after a while.
Overall, a beautiful debut novel which makes you care about the characters and what happens to them. I look forward to reading more from Tara Ison.
*** Reviewed for the LibraryThing Member Giveaway Program***
August 4, 2011
From a book review I wrote:
"The book was so far different from what I expected. I thought it would be about life among the cons and having the constant fear of escapes hovering. I thought it would be about Alcatrez, the prison, and I guess in a way it was, but mostly it was about being trapped. And the metaphorical island didn't need to be Alcatrez, it could have been anywhere: a small town, a big city, your own head. The author outlines depression and mental instability so well I could assume she's dealt with it very directly. It's about a daughter watching her mother in a free fall, a downward spiral into a shell of the person she once was. It's devastating, and the end doesn't readjust to happy. In fact, the further you read, the sadder the story gets."
"The book was so far different from what I expected. I thought it would be about life among the cons and having the constant fear of escapes hovering. I thought it would be about Alcatrez, the prison, and I guess in a way it was, but mostly it was about being trapped. And the metaphorical island didn't need to be Alcatrez, it could have been anywhere: a small town, a big city, your own head. The author outlines depression and mental instability so well I could assume she's dealt with it very directly. It's about a daughter watching her mother in a free fall, a downward spiral into a shell of the person she once was. It's devastating, and the end doesn't readjust to happy. In fact, the further you read, the sadder the story gets."
June 30, 2013
I was intrigued by the concept of the families of prison guards living on Alcatraz, so when I came across this order book(1997) at my local public library, I signed it out. Not the story I expected, but still a thought provoking novel. It is the story of Olivia, the young daughter of Al and Vivian and their family life on Alcatraz. It is about both the actual prison and the one of the family's own making as Vivian, a brilliant young woman, tries to conform to the expectations of society, and her domineering, yet weak husband, as a wife and mother. Olivia becomes collateral damage and has to figure out her own way of escape.
October 24, 2022
Für Olivia ist Alcatraz ist nicht die Insel, auf der das berüchtigte Gefängnis steht, für Olivia ist es ihr Zuhause. Ihr Leben wird durch einen strengen Zeitplan bestimmt: die Arbeitszeiten der Aufseher, zu denen auch ihr Vater gehört und der Fahrplan der Fähren, die nicht nur die Besucher nach Alcatraz bringen, sondern auch die Kinder der Insel zur Schule oder die Mütter zu Besorgungen oder zum Arzt. Für viele bietet der Rahmen, in dem sich das Leben auf der Insel bewegt, Sicherheit. Andere zerbrechen daran.
"A child out of Alcatraz" erzählt zuerst die Geschichte von Olivia. Noch ist sie zu klein, um mit ihren Geschwistern zur Schule aufs Festland zu gehen und so ist alles, was sie kennt, das Leben auf Alcatraz und das, was ihre älteren Geschwister ihr erzählen. Auch wenn sie noch klein ist und deshalb die Zusammenhänge nicht erkennt, sieht Olivia vieles von dem die Erwachsenen glauben, sie würden es vor ihr verborgen halten. Deshalb war mein erster Eindruck von Olivia und ihrer Familie kein guter. Olivia und ihre Mutter schienen wie auf Zehenspitzen durch den Alltag zu gehen, um möglichst wenig aufzufallen. Die Arbeitszeit des Vaters bestimmt ihr Leben, das fast genauso geregelt ist wie das Leben in dem Gefängnis, in dem er arbeitet.
Olivias Mutter Vivian wirkt auf mich von Anfang an so, als ob sie nicht hierher passt. Aber erst als ihr Teil der Geschichte erzählt wird, verstehe ich den Grund. Das Leben, das sie jetzt führt, ist ein ganz anderes Leben als das, das sie für sich erträumt hat. Das muss nicht unbedingt etwas Schlechtes sein. Aber ich hatte das Gefühl, als ob sie und ihr Mann aus den falschen Gründen zusammen gekommen waren. Sicher war Liebe im Spiel, aber nicht zu der jeweils anderen Person, sondern zu dem Bild, das man sich von dem Anderen gemacht hat. Gerade Vivian zerbricht an den Vorstellungen ihres Mannes, die sie nicht erfüllen kann.
Kleine Fluchten gibt es immer wieder für Vivian und Olivia. Aber jedes Mal, wenn sie wieder zurückkommen, empfinden sie das Leben in ihrer kleinen Gemeinschaft noch bedrückender. Der Vater versucht immer mehr, seine Familie zusammen zu halten und übt deshalb immer mehr Druck aus. Trotzdem kann er nicht verhindern, dass seine Familie langsam, aber sicher zerbricht.
Die Geschichte beginnt in den 1950er Jahren, in der die Möglichkeiten für Vivian noch ganz andere waren als heute. Gleichzeitig hat das Leben in der kleinen Gemeinschaft auf der Insel für mich Unheimliches gehabt. Die heile Welt, die nach außen dargestellt und mit aller Möglichkeit aufrecht gehalten werden sollte, hat für Vivian und später auch für Olivia nur wenig Möglichkeiten gibt, sich selbst zu verwirklichen. Es muss für Olivia hart gewesen sein, in so einer Umgebung aufzuwachsen.
"A child out of Alcatraz" erzählt nicht nur Olivias Geschichte, sondern auch die ihrer Mutter Vivian. Es ist eine leise Geschichte, die von viel mehr erzählt, als man auf den ersten Blick vermutet.
"A child out of Alcatraz" erzählt zuerst die Geschichte von Olivia. Noch ist sie zu klein, um mit ihren Geschwistern zur Schule aufs Festland zu gehen und so ist alles, was sie kennt, das Leben auf Alcatraz und das, was ihre älteren Geschwister ihr erzählen. Auch wenn sie noch klein ist und deshalb die Zusammenhänge nicht erkennt, sieht Olivia vieles von dem die Erwachsenen glauben, sie würden es vor ihr verborgen halten. Deshalb war mein erster Eindruck von Olivia und ihrer Familie kein guter. Olivia und ihre Mutter schienen wie auf Zehenspitzen durch den Alltag zu gehen, um möglichst wenig aufzufallen. Die Arbeitszeit des Vaters bestimmt ihr Leben, das fast genauso geregelt ist wie das Leben in dem Gefängnis, in dem er arbeitet.
Olivias Mutter Vivian wirkt auf mich von Anfang an so, als ob sie nicht hierher passt. Aber erst als ihr Teil der Geschichte erzählt wird, verstehe ich den Grund. Das Leben, das sie jetzt führt, ist ein ganz anderes Leben als das, das sie für sich erträumt hat. Das muss nicht unbedingt etwas Schlechtes sein. Aber ich hatte das Gefühl, als ob sie und ihr Mann aus den falschen Gründen zusammen gekommen waren. Sicher war Liebe im Spiel, aber nicht zu der jeweils anderen Person, sondern zu dem Bild, das man sich von dem Anderen gemacht hat. Gerade Vivian zerbricht an den Vorstellungen ihres Mannes, die sie nicht erfüllen kann.
Kleine Fluchten gibt es immer wieder für Vivian und Olivia. Aber jedes Mal, wenn sie wieder zurückkommen, empfinden sie das Leben in ihrer kleinen Gemeinschaft noch bedrückender. Der Vater versucht immer mehr, seine Familie zusammen zu halten und übt deshalb immer mehr Druck aus. Trotzdem kann er nicht verhindern, dass seine Familie langsam, aber sicher zerbricht.
Die Geschichte beginnt in den 1950er Jahren, in der die Möglichkeiten für Vivian noch ganz andere waren als heute. Gleichzeitig hat das Leben in der kleinen Gemeinschaft auf der Insel für mich Unheimliches gehabt. Die heile Welt, die nach außen dargestellt und mit aller Möglichkeit aufrecht gehalten werden sollte, hat für Vivian und später auch für Olivia nur wenig Möglichkeiten gibt, sich selbst zu verwirklichen. Es muss für Olivia hart gewesen sein, in so einer Umgebung aufzuwachsen.
"A child out of Alcatraz" erzählt nicht nur Olivias Geschichte, sondern auch die ihrer Mutter Vivian. Es ist eine leise Geschichte, die von viel mehr erzählt, als man auf den ersten Blick vermutet.
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September 1, 2020Gripping generational novel featuring the wife and youngest child of an Alcatraz correctional officer, Art, whose domination destroys his bright, promising independent wife, Vivian, and alienates his three children. The youngest, Olivia, who has a loving, almost worshipful, bond with Vivian, watches
watches Vivian's health and sanity deteriorate under Art's self absorption and relentless domination until she is hospitalized, then institutionalized and no longer a physical, loving and much-needed supportive presence and companion during Olivia's formative early teen years. The fiction is interlaced with fascinating facts about Alcatraz, its history and inmate-escape attempts.
watches Vivian's health and sanity deteriorate under Art's self absorption and relentless domination until she is hospitalized, then institutionalized and no longer a physical, loving and much-needed supportive presence and companion during Olivia's formative early teen years. The fiction is interlaced with fascinating facts about Alcatraz, its history and inmate-escape attempts.
December 4, 2016
A unique look at Alcatraz from the POV of a female child growing up on the island where her father is a guard. Loved the insights and the realization that isolation doesn't just effect the prisoners.
February 28, 2022
This was handed down to me from a friend; it is a bit of a peculiar book. Interesting setting of Alcatraz. Bits about its history are mingled with the fictionalized account of a young girl whose father is employed there.
May 2, 2024
This book does a stellar job weaving in a very interesting and sad story alongside a retelling of the history of Alcatraz.
I randomly picked it up and it’s probably one of my all time favorites now.
I randomly picked it up and it’s probably one of my all time favorites now.
January 12, 2010
I was surprised at how little I knew about Alcatraz. Like that fact that the prison guards and their families lived on the island. I also had no idea how close the island is to the city. Now I'm more interested than ever in going to tour it. However, the end of the book was raunchy and I wouldn't read it again because that seemed pointless and I didn't appreciate it. So, heads up for that.
October 10, 2022
Excellent book!!!
January 8, 2013
Was sadly dissappointing. Not at all what I thought or hoped for.
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December 6, 2016Review will be coming eventually if not sooner. I promise.
October 31, 2017
This book couldn’t have been further from what I was expecting.
It’s a story about a family and how living on Alcatraz isolated them to the point that they lost track of who they were as individuals. Slowly over the years the family dynamic changed in ways that paralleled what inmates were claiming the prison isolation did to them. Interestingly enough, it was due to the father (the prison guard) giving every member of the family their “role”.
I enjoyed the book for the most part but found some parts of the book were overdone. Any scene regarding sex, or the body, was described in ways that rivaled 50 Shades of Gray. It just didn’t think it fit into the story or the writing style. Otherwise I thought the story was written well and it held my attention.
It’s a story about a family and how living on Alcatraz isolated them to the point that they lost track of who they were as individuals. Slowly over the years the family dynamic changed in ways that paralleled what inmates were claiming the prison isolation did to them. Interestingly enough, it was due to the father (the prison guard) giving every member of the family their “role”.
I enjoyed the book for the most part but found some parts of the book were overdone. Any scene regarding sex, or the body, was described in ways that rivaled 50 Shades of Gray. It just didn’t think it fit into the story or the writing style. Otherwise I thought the story was written well and it held my attention.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews