Chapter 28 (Chapter Twenty-Seven): Library Visit, Razor Blade Theft, and a Buddhist Reminder

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

The chapter opens on a Saturday in November 2018, Day 476 of Corby’s 1095‑day sentence. Solomon, unusually prompt, escorts Corby to the library. On the stairs, Solomon asks what Corby is in for; Corby explains the unwritten rule against direct questions but Solomon persists, even asking if Corby killed someone. Corby distances himself.

The library is in disarray: empty shelves, books stacked on the floor, Javier repainting the walls while Mrs. Millman scrapes gum. She explains she started a deep clean during an aborted lockdown. Mrs. Millman wears a cheap wig but has regained energy after her cancer treatment. Buddhist prayer flags still hang behind her desk, defiance of Deputy Warden Zabrowski. Solomon appears, ignoring Mrs. Millman, and asks for Heretics of Dune. Mrs. Millman directs him to the science‑fiction stacks and asks Corby if Solomon is the one involved with the dogs; Corby nods, confirming the cruelty case.

Solomon returns with Eragon and a George R. R. Martin novel. Mrs. Millman mentions the DOC has approved a repurposed IBM Aptiva computer with a dot‑matrix printer but no internet. Solomon asks about video games; she dismisses violent titles. She checks out his books and gives him a Milky Way mini.

Corby visits Lester Wiggins, who is asleep, his book fallen. Mrs. Millman says Lester has “really slipped lately”; staff are quietly working toward a compassionate release. Lester’s son Cornell visits occasionally; officers look the other way while they hold hands and sing hymns.

Before leaving, Mrs. Millman passes a message from Dr. Beena Patel, who sends her regards. Corby feels emotional. At the door, Corby grabs three discarded books: a Collier’s yearbook from his birth year, a damaged illustrated volume of Greek mythology, and a pocket collection of Buddhist quotes.

In the hallway, Javier stops them. He shakes Solomon’s books and a razor blade falls out of Eragon—Solomon had stolen it from Mrs. Millman’s counter. Javier announces a library suspension for the rest of the month and probation after that. Solomon shrugs and insults the library. Corby yells at him; Solomon retorts, “At least I didn’t kill my own kid,” and runs ahead.

Back in his cell, Corby tries to calm down. He reads Dr. Patel’s letter about living in the present and staying engaged, then decides to disengage from Solomon and expects to be removed from the work crew. He flips through the Buddhism book and reads a quote about speaking truthfully, gently, and with kindly intent. He admits he lost his temper and acknowledges that Solomon is a damaged boy in a place he doesn’t belong.

Corby then looks through the yearbook, noting events from 1982: the Tylenol murders, Time’s Man of the Year (the computer), Prince William’s birth the same day as Corby’s, the CDC’s dismissive statement about AIDS being confined to drug addicts and gay men, and John Hinckley’s insanity acquittal. He reflects that mental patients are now sent to prison instead of hospitals, and that Reagan’s drug sentencing policies have disproportionately incarcerated Black and Brown people.

Finally, he examines the Greek mythology book. He identifies with the suffering in the paintings: Sisyphus, Orpheus, and Icarus. Bruegel’s Landscape with the Fall of Icarus reminds him that life on the outside goes on while inmates suffer unnoticed. Gowy’s version shifts his sympathy from Icarus to Daedalus, the father helpless to save his son—a parallel to Corby’s own remorse.

Key Events

Solomon aggressively asks Corby why he is in prison; Corby rebuffs him.
The library is being rearranged; Mrs. Millman is cleaning; Javier is repainting.
Mrs. Millman reveals Solomon’s involvement with the dogs.
Solomon checks out Eragon and a George Martin novel.
Mrs. Millman passes along a greeting from Dr. Patel.
Corby takes three discarded books: a yearbook, a Greek mythology volume, and a Buddhist quote book.
Javier discovers Solomon stole a razor blade from Mrs. Millman’s desk.
Solomon is suspended from the library; an argument erupts between Corby and Solomon; Solomon says, “At least I didn’t kill my own kid.”
Corby reads the Buddhist quote about speaking with kindly intent, then examines the yearbook and mythology book.

Character Development

Corby: Exposed as a father who killed his own child, a fact he still cannot verbalize. He tries to manage his anger but reacts explosively to Solomon’s taunt. Later he exercises self‑reflection, recognizing his own failure and Solomon’s damaged nature. His reading list shows a growing intellectual and emotional awareness.
Solomon: Displays impulsive, manipulative behavior (stealing the razor blade) and verbal cruelty. His age (18) and violent history (the dogs) mark him as a troubled youth in an adult prison. His library theft suggests he may be planning self‑harm or other violence.
Mrs. Millman: Continues to defy the system (prayer flags, talking about compassionate release). She remains kind, humorous, and resilient despite her own cancer and the prison bureaucracy.
Javier: Supports Mrs. Millman, enforces the library rules, and reminds Corby of their shared AA/NA meetings.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

The Razor Blade / Self‑Harm: The stolen blade is a tangible threat of violence to self or others. It symbolizes the precarious mental state of inmates, especially Solomon.
Buddhist Quotes vs. Anger: The quote about speaking gently and truthfully contrasts with Corby’s outburst, underscoring the struggle between impulse and mindfulness.
Icarus and Daedalus: Corby’s shifting identification from the reckless son to the helpless father mirrors his own guilt over his child’s death. Bruegel’s painting illustrates the theme of unnoticed suffering, applicable to prisoners.
1982 Time Capsule: The yearbook highlights systemic injustices (AIDS stigma, racist drug laws, the prison‑industrial complex) that shape the world Corby now sees with “twenty‑twenty vision.”
The Library as Sanctuary and Contested Space: Mrs. Millman turns the library into a site of resistance (prayer flags, compassionate‑release efforts) but it is also vulnerable to theft and lockdowns.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter lays bare Corby’s central trauma—the death of his child—through Solomon’s cruel revelation. It also deepens Corby’s moral evolution: he must choose between punitive rage and the self‑awareness urged by Dr. Patel and the Buddhist text. The vignettes about Lester Wiggins and the quiet attempts at compassionate release remind readers that prisons often hold elderly, ill, or mentally ill inmates whom the system ignores. Finally, Corby’s reading of the yearbook provides a social‑political lens on the American carceral state, reinforcing the novel’s critique of mass incarceration.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Corby react so violently to Solomon’s statement, “At least I didn’t kill my own kid”?
Corby is serving time for the death of his own child, a fact he has never directly admitted to Solomon. The remark hits Corby’s deepest guilt and shame. His anger is a defense against the unbearable truth; later, he tries to calm himself by reading the Buddhist quote about speaking with kindly intent.

2. What does the Bruegel painting Landscape with the Fall of Icarus reveal about Corby’s state of mind?
He sees a parallel between Icarus’s unnoticed fall and the way ordinary people—and the system—ignore the suffering of prisoners. The painting reinforces his sense of invisibility and his frustration that life continues outside while inmates die without ceremony.

3. How does the librarian Mrs. Millman resist the prison’s authority in this chapter?
She keeps the Buddhist prayer flags up despite Deputy Warden Zabrowski’s order to remove them. She also quietly advocates for Lester Wiggins’s compassionate release, using her own contacts since employees cannot officially do so. Her defiance is subtle but persistent.