Extra - Books A glimpse inside holiday hellhole Anne Fullerton 7 February 2010 Hotel Kerobokan Kathryn Bonella

(Macmillan, $34.95)

WHEN Schapelle Corby was arrested in Bali on drug-smuggling charges in 2004, Kathryn Bonella was one of the few journalists she agreed to speak to. At the time Bonella was working as a producer on 60 Minutes but moved to the island shortly after to co-author Corby's autobiography, My Story. She spent a year visiting the jail, nicknamed "Hotel Kerobokan" for its lax security and became so fascinated by the place that she stayed to pen a second book. The result is an insightful and sharply observed account of life inside Indonesia's most notorious prison.

Eccentric, third-world jails have proved fruitful ground for Australian writers - Marching Powder, Rusty Young's 2003 bestseller about Bolivia's San Pedro Prison was optioned for a film by Brad Pitt's production company - and this latest instalment of prison prose has all the staples. Sadistic guards, escape plots, gang violence and rampant drug abuse are punctuated by the near comical - a jail yard ecstasy lab posing as a furniture shop and a lavish prison wedding. Bonella casts a cool, journalistic eye over some horrific events but even plain description is enough to make the opening chapter nauseating. It's an account of "sex night", when, for a fee, guards bring prostitutes into the prison and inmates queue beside a filthy mattress to wait their turn.

Going beyond the usual round-up of disease-ridden cells and arbitrary violence, Bonella provides a fascinating glimpse into the lives of some of the prison's best-known guests. She documents the insidious influence of the Bali bombers on the jail, reflected in details as innocuous as the rising popularity of goatees; fighting in the women's block over the affections of Bali Nine member Renae "the Playboy" Lawrence; and champion yachtsman Chris Packer's generosity during his stint for possession of unregistered firearms. (A Brazilian inmate was particularly impressed by his collection of fine wines and taste for filet mignon, describing him as "a gentleman behind bars".)

Bonella has corroborated testimonies from prisoners and local media to cover a broad scope. However, unlike Marching Powder there is no central individual to drive the narrative.

A large cast of rotating characters prevent many of the more vibrant personalities from becoming truly three-dimensional. Nonetheless, Kerobokan is a compelling character in itself and the tale reverberates with the frustration of trying to navigate a justice system so deeply entrenched in corruption. It's impossible not to be moved by the story of a small-time drug mule, who watches hitmen, paedophiles and rapists walk free as he awaits the firing squad because unlike them, he is too poor to buy back his freedom.

This is a bleak reminder of the cruelty, hypocrisy and injustice taking place in the heart of one of our most popular holiday destinations and a damning indictment of capitalism at its most destructive.

Bring Schapelle Home - McJannett

29 May 2010

An Australian man who has arrived home after five months in a Bali jail for drug offences has called on the government to bring Schapelle Corby home.

Robert McJannett, a prominent trade unionist and former political candidate, hit out at Indonesian authorities when he arrived in Perth on Friday night.

There are new fears for her life with a top secret plan to transfer her from her Bali jail to a remote prison in Java, reports Corby biographer Kathryn Bonella.

Surfing bible Tracks July 2010 issue featured a four-page spread of extracts and photos from "Hotel Kerobokan" - as it's all about the surfing mecca's most notorious jail.

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BESTSELLERS

3 March 2010

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1. Hotel Kerobokan, Kathryn Bonella, Macmillan, $34.99

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20 February 2010

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POLITICAL/SOCIAL SCIENCE

1. Hotel Kerobokan Kathryn Bonella, Macmillan, $34.99

Letters to the editor
18 February 2010
TALKING POINT

It's still happening

DEBORAH Cassrels' story (``Bali prisoners `forced to sign' '', 15/2) shows just how sensitive the latest Kerobokan Prison chief, Siswanto, is to material in my book Hotel Kerobokan. Through my own jail sources, I've been hearing for weeks now that Siswanto had been threatening inmates with losing any chance of having their sentences reduced if they did not deny my account of life in Kerobokan including drug dealing and guards taking bribes for favours. Contrary to the source quoted by Cassrels that ``this stuff hasn't happened for two years'', I speak regularly to inmates on their mobile phones and this stuff is definitely still happening.

Kathryn Bonella

A glimpse inside holiday hellhole
Anne Fullerton
7 February 2010
Hotel Kerobokan

WHEN Schapelle Corby was arrested in Bali on drug-smuggling charges in 2004, Kathryn Bonella was one of the few journalists she agreed to speak to. At the time Bonella was working as a producer on 60 Minutes but moved to the island shortly after to co-author Corby's autobiography, My Story. She spent a year visiting the jail, nicknamed "Hotel Kerobokan" for its lax security and became so fascinated by the place that she stayed to pen a second book. The result is an insightful and sharply observed account of life inside Indonesia's most notorious prison.

By Adam Gartrell

South-East Asia Correspondent

Australian Associated Press

JAKARTA, AAP - For most people, Bali is paradise on earth, a place of sun and surf and steamy nights of dancing and abandon.But for the 1000 odd inmates of Kerobokan Prison Bali is hell on earth - a place of murder, rape, depravity, drug addiction and disease.

Read Full Article »

WALLED HELL ...  For inmates of Kerobokan life is just a nightmare Bali's prison is a furnace of sex, drugs and brutality.

SATURDAY EXTRACT

By Kathryn Bonella

The Advertiser - November 21, 2009

KEROBOKAN Prison's walls touch paradise - surrounded by sun-kissed beaches, luxury villas and the best restaurants in Bali's Seminyak and Legian areas. Inside those walls, it's a living hell; a seedy, bizarre world where the unimaginable and shocking become routine life.

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'Corby's world of drugs, sex, murder'

By Evonne Barry, The Sunday Telegraph.
October 25, 2009

HANGING murders, corruption, paid sex and widespread drug abuse are part of everyday life in the Indonesian jail housing Schapelle Corby and the Bali Nine.

A new book by Corby biographer Kathryn Bonella gives a rare insight into the lives of prisoners inside Bali's notorious Kerobokan Jail, dubbed "Hotel K".

TVNZ.co.nz

For most people, Bali is paradise on earth, a place of sun and surf and steamy nights of dancing and abandon. But for the 1000 odd inmates of Kerobokan Prison Bali is hell on earth - a place of murder, rape, depravity, drug addiction and disease. Kerobokan is the home of convicted drug smugglers Schapelle Corby and the Bali Nine.

Sex and drugs at 'Hotel Kerobokan'

SEX, drugs and corruption. These are common issues plaguing prisons the world over. Now an Australian journalist and author has come out with a book on the goings on in Bali's Kerobokan prison. "Hotel Kerobokan" is the product of 18 months of research by Kathryn Bonella, who visited the prison every day to interview inmates and observe the relationships between prisoners and guards, reports the Jakarta Globe.

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FOCUS, Sunday Herald Sun

Life is cheap in Bali jail hellhole
KATHRYN BONELLA

25 October 2009