A.J. Ward

A.J. Ward
Hole in my Life
Autobiography
Holiday
199

1. Right now the main character and author, Jack, has just started serving his sentence in jail. He was previously arrested for smuggling hashish into the United States from the Virgin Islands. Jack is not a hardcore drug dealer, he was offered 10,000$ to help with the smuggling and he needed money for college so he did it. Soon after he arrived in New York with the drugs he was arrested by the F.B.I. Apparently the guy who originally hired Jack was an informant. Jack will now serve anywhere between sixty days and six years depending on his behavior.

2. So far I am really liking this book. It takes place in the 1970's which is not a time period I know a lot about so that is one of the reasons I like the book. Also the main character is kind of a rebel and this makes it fun to read his thoughts. I also like this book because it is an autobiography. Everything that the author writes is completely true, and I think this is a very interesting aspect to the book.

3. A theme I see in this book is impulsiveness. Agreeing to help smuggle the drugs was obviously a very poor decision on Jack's part. He originally decided to do it because he wanted to go to college and get on with his life as a writer. However the stupid decision that he made ends up only delaying him from his dreams more.

4. My favorite character so far is Jack. Despite his really bad decision making skills he still manages to make himself a really likable character. Maybe this is because he is he author and the main character and you have to hear his point of view about everything. Also most people in his situation probably would've tried to find a scapegoat for their actions, but Jack decided to turn himself in. It was mostly so that he would do less time in prison, but it was still noble.

5. My least favorite character is Hamilton. Hamilton is an insane ex British Navy officer that captains the ship Jack smuggles drugs on. It is just a two man crew, Jack and Hamilton, and Hamilton finds every way he can to bother, haze, and scare Jack. One night when Hamilton was drunk he got his pistol and fired a few rounds at Jack. He was very drunk and missed terribly but it was still a scary moment in the book. That is why I don't like Hamilton.

6. I predict that Jack will get out of prison in under a year. He was convicted on very serious charges, but because of his age and his general kindheartedness I think he won't in jail too long. I also think this because Jack managed to get a job in the prison hospital, away from all the dangerous prisoners. This job should keep him out of trouble.