A nontypical book, written by a ghostwriter Tommy Scholl, about the personal experiences of Robert Rother.
The story is about Robert, a German school dropout who starts doing business in China. First part of the book is a bit about bragging how much he earned, what he did, how succesfull he was. And the latter part was about his experiences whilst and after spending 7 years and 7 months in prison.
The writing style was of fluent and good quality. Part of the story was interesting, part was really disturbing to read. As he himself describes, he had to harden himself to stay sane, and did not reveal many of his thoughts or feelings whilst being prisoned or thereafter. It is/was easier for him just to deliver facts and observations, of what he saw, heard, smelled…
To someone who has not wittnessed or experienced prisons or other totalitarian surroundings, the narratives may seem exaggerated or untrue. It can be that the book can be truly understood only by people who have experienced at least something similar (loosing your freedom, being punished without trial, having experienced sleep or sensory deprivation, having to fear being electrocuted or tortured, abe luckily most readers have not had to live through, wittness or see these kind of things for themselves personally.
Despite some of the book‘s drawbacks I suggest reading this book, if you master the German language to the extent to be able to read it through.
Ps. In an interview Robert said what he had heard/learned whilst spending time in prison: „Every person is like a book.“ And he said that during his years in prison, he got the chance to listen to many „books“.