This collection of short stories (ten plus one bonus story) by Easy Waters is an outstanding read! Each story pulls the reader in and leaves you on the edge of your seat. The first story, “Doing Hard Time,” is a hilarious account of a prisoner being given a ticket (charged with a violation of prison rules) for allegedly exposing his erection to a female officer. Easy Waters, a well-respected jailhouse lawyer, is tasked with representing the prisoner at his hearing to answer the charges. In a masterful display of lawyering, Waters presents institutional records to prove that the prisoner suffers from priapism, a medical condition characterized by persistent, painful erections. The dialogue between the lieutenant in charge of the hearing, the female officer, and Waters is absolutely hysterical, leaving the reader in stitches! The charges are dismissed, and the lieutenant tells Waters and the prisoner not to discuss the matter with anyone. The two men agree, and then can’t wait to tell everyone what happened. As they leave the room, Waters says to his client, “This incident gives new meaning to the phrase ‘doing hard time.'” After reading this initial story, one is eager to encounter the next one, and then the one after that. I literally could not put the book down!

Waters’ stories are filled with humor, wit, and great insight about the absurdities of prison and the legal system. Indeed, the title “Conundrums” is the perfect way to describe the many paradoxes that characterize the system. These matters are addressed in his brilliant story, “Days in the Life of a Jailhouse Lawyer.” Waters takes the reader into the daily, mundane routine of living in prison as a jailhouse lawyer. The early morning exercises in his cell before going to the mess hall for chow, the work in the law library (the reading of law journals and newspapers, filing appeals, and advising prisoners on the merits of their case), all of this is discussed in great detail. With nearly two decades of experience, Waters writes that “hundreds, if not thousands, of cases are imprisoned in my head. They are part of me, like a tumor on my brain that can’t be removed without jeopardizing my life.” Water’s deep investment in reading and studying the law raises a personal, complex dilemma he forthrightly admits: “I believe in it, the ideal. Sometimes I think it’s the only thing I have to weather the storm of imprisonment, a life preserver I won’t let go of…I realize we are a nation of laws, I just don’t trust the men and women who interpret the law, because by and large they are not motivated by its ideals.”

More than a decade before Michelle Alexander published The New Jim Crow (2010), Waters was addressing the same issues in his short fiction, letters to newspaper editors, essays, and sermons. The stories in this collection expose the corrupt politicians who use “law and order” to get elected; the arbitrary, absurd decisions of parole boards who deny release to worthy candidates and give it to those who are not; the racist and capitalist nature of the carceral state, and a legal system more concerned about punishment than justice. Waters is a master at his craft! His writing is filled with brilliant, descriptive prose, poetic flair, and biting humor. There is also a refreshing honesty, vulnerability, and tenderness that appear in many characters in these stories that remind us of the humanity of incarcerated people. Indeed, the short story is a challenging genre. But I would put Waters right alongside some of the best, including James Baldwin, Anton Chekov, and Flannery O’Connor. This is an outstanding collection, a pure joy to read!

Amazon review available here: Review by Dr. Mark Chapman

Book available on Amazon: Conundrums