Cool Hand Luke (novel)

First edition (publ. Scribner)

Cool Hand Luke is a novel by Donn Pearce published in 1965. It was adapted into a film of the same name. The story is told in first-person narrative and is unusual in that although there is dialogue, and all quotes are indented paragraphs, they are not encased in quotation marks as in normal English-language literature. Many of the episodes found in the movie appear in the book as well, including the egg-eating contest, the "string" escape, and Boss Godfrey's shooting. Although the title character is prominent in the book, the novel deals more with the day-to-day harsh life of the prisoners than the lead character.