NPR

Sharp Satire And Dark Humor In 'Riots I Have Known'

Ryan Chapman's debut novel opens in the middle of a prison riot as the unnamed narrator cowers in fear for his life — which doesn't seem like a setup for comedy, but it's packed with dark laughs.
Source: Simon & Schuster

, the debut novel from journalist Ryan Chapman, opens with the unnamed narrator confronting his imminent death. He's in a prison that's currently in the midst of a bloody riot, the direct result of a piece published in , the literary magazine the narrator edits. "The tenor of my own shuffling off this mortal coil will be determined by whoever first breaks down my meager barricade here in the Will and Edith Rosenberg Media Center for Journalistic

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