Summary

In prison, “a crackhead becomes a former high-class pimp,” “a tax evader was a master forger and poker champ” (165). Before prison, the first-person narrator, whom another inmate later called “Steven,” swindled people into buying faux security systems. “This is who I was” (166), he explained. “Most people on the outside are liars too” (166), the narrator added, for instance, “They were accepted to the Ivy League but decided against it” (166).

After a rapid succession of short-lived cellmates, the narrator landed one who lasted named Robert. Robert displayed photos of “old and current girlfriends,” whom the narrator called a “lineup of sluts and angels” (168); “a charming suburban dream home” (168) with Hummels lining the mantel; and a Hummer on his bulletin board. Robert also displayed “prison ink that represented the iconic logos and designer names of a millionaire’s lifestyle” (169) because “he thought he had expensive taste, but...