Rene Denfeld has written a book like none I’ve read before, combining the harsh and volatile reality of the American penal system with the magical, almost poetical narration by one of its death row inmates, a mute schizophrenic who creates a fantastical world in this bleak and unforgiving place. He tells the story of those he observes from his crumbling and cold cell deep in the bowels of this ancient stone prison, “The Enchanted Place” as he imagines it. He tells us about the lives the fallen priest who fell in love, the warden of a sympathetic nature who shows kindness to the seemingly underserving, the foolish kid who made a bad choice that has cost him his freedom, the murderer who wishes to die and, the criminal investigator seeking redeem them all. A beautifully written, astounding novel that will reach the heart and have you feeling for the most unlikely of people. 

- Mel