Topic 5: Hole in My Life by Jack Gantos

Gantos, Jack. 2002. Hole in My Life. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN: 0374399883.

Jack Gantos’ novels for children are often funny and touching, so it is somewhat of a shock to read the author’s super-serious autobiography, HOLE IN MY LIFE. Covering only a small span of years, Gantos chronicles his life away from his parents to his stint in prison for dealing marijuana. Most of the tale deals with the trip from Puerto Rico to New York, smuggling hashish. Gantos describes how he was arrested for dealing the marijuana and the court process that sent him to prison. The story the authors relates pulls no punches and deals honestly with the harsh realities he faced in prison, including both physical and sexual violence, and the aftereffects that sometimes still haunt him. One critic has said, “It is as much a cautionary tale for adults as for kids. The lesson that Gantos wants adults to get is that we should not give up on kids who are in trouble. With the right help, and a lot of luck, they may survive and go on to become adults who make the world a better place.” (Nilsen, 82.)


Gantos’ narrative is touched by moments of poignancy that demonstrate how naïve a young man he was. “Like most kids I was aware that the world was filled with dangerous people, yet I wasn’t certain I could always spot them coming. My dad, however, was a deadeye when it came to spotting the outlaw class.” (Gantos, 5.) But the tale points out with a vivid brush how all that can change. “Dad’s keen eye for spotting criminals of all stripes was impressive. But it wasn’t perfect. He never pegged me for being one of them.” (Gantos, 7.) Both during the journey and throughout his time in prison, Gantos kept a journal. The first was used as evidence in court and the second was written between the lines of a prison copy of The Brothers Karamazov. He received the first back after writing for the court records, but the second he lost because the guard would not let him leave with prison property. “It was a joy to have new thoughts. And then I had a funny revelation that I really didn’t lose my journal entirely. That between the lines of new, free thoughts were compressed the secret memories of my days in prison.” (Gantos, 196.)

Gantos was always writer at heart, and the act of writing is a pivot point of the story. Whether he was journaling or creating fiction, writing was an activity that brought comfort and peace to Gantos. At first, after his release, he tried writing stories about the experiences and men he met there, "tired of all the blood and guts and hard lives and hard hearts." (Gantos, 198.) It is the journal that Gantos hopes lasts in that prison he left. “Now I wonder if that volume is still on the shelf. I hope so. That thought sustains me. I imagine some prisoner checking it out and reading my book within that book. And maybe he will add his thoughts, and maybe others will, too. Maybe the library will become filled with books with the trapped world of prisoner’s thoughts concealed between the lines.” (Gantos, 200.) The thought is the mark of the true writer. Gantos’ story is moving and sad and hard hitting. It is not for younger readers because of that very fact, but it is a book that teens and adults should read and discuss.

Reference list:
Gantos, Jack. 2002. Hole in My Life. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Nilsen, Alleen Pace. 2002. Review of Hole in My Life by Jack Gantos. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, Vol. 46, Issue 1 (Sept.), 82.