Mouse on a String at the Prison for Women

by George Caron

George Caron entered this institution as a young man in the 1970s. In time, he became warden of the prison - at age thirty-six, the youngest warden in Federal Corrections at that time. Now retired, Caron shares with us the brutal facts of incarceration and reveals the pus and poison that ooze from the tragic events and circumstances in such an environment.

213 pages, Paperback

First published March 26, 2009

Reviews

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I almost gave up on this book (read first half and picked it up again a year later). That should tell you it is NOT catching. There are good points and bad. Caron is a cross between OITNB's Caputo and Healey: he clearly knows his stuff (Caputo, esp. Later seasons) but is obsessed with lesbianism (Healey). While reading the first half of the book, he made frequent reference to who was a lesbian and skin-crawling comments on women's bodies, particularly their breasts (okay, that's a little Caputo, early series). This was part of the reason I gave up on the book.

For the second half, he toned down the cringeworthy comments and I could finally see he has a certain style with writing, namely that he is true law enforcement through and through. He must write a good report, as he is very good with stating facts and sequence of events. However, it is so dry and not very informative. You have to read a lot to get one tidbit of information. He tries telling prisoners' stories but he is so clinical, I did not feel at all vested in their stories. It was pretty boring.

I had wanted to keep this for Canadian content and related to my studies but it is so boring, I know I won't refer to it. I am donating it.

[Chandler ✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to read this book for my "women in the Canadian criminal justice system" course at SFU. The book is a quick easy read and although the subject matter is actually really interesting the author is unbelievably naive and biased. He paints a picture that seems unusually polite and dull considering his line of work. If you read up on the actual details of the Prison for Women you'll hear about all of the complaints and reports written and petitions for it to close but Caron mentions none of this.

I did enjoy his focus on some of the specific inmates and their stories but Caron unfortunately has a very sexist and crude way of describing the women inmates which was extremely off putting.

Overall the book was fairly interesting and made me curious to learn more about the P4W and what really went on inside the facility.

[Madeleine McLaughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most of us don't know anything about women's prisons. This is a memoir told by the warden from the late seventies to the late eighties. A different age in corrections.

[Emma · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was disgusting, and appalling, and it made me resent a class I genuinely like. He writes like you think every stereotypical male author does, and it’s genuinely very gross. No. Thank. You.

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author sexualized the inmates (repeated comments about attractiveness and breast size) as well as completely ignored the major incident that contributed to the prison being closed.

[Sheri Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This should be mandatory reading for everyone that gets hired but Corrections. And it's great for anyone interested in what happens behind bars in Canada

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written, interesting read with great insights into Canada's 1st maximum Prison for Women.

[Toby Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learning about the closest city to me is awesome but hearing about what happened is greater