Orange Is the New Black by Piper Kerman - A 30-minute Instaread Summary.

Inside this Instaread Summary:
Overview of the entire book Introduction to the characters in the book Summary and analysis of all the chapters in the book A Reader's Perspective
Preview of the earlier Chapters:

Chapter 1

In 1993, twenty-four year old Piper Kerman was at the Brussels airport, waiting for her suitcase after arriving from Chicago via Paris. She was dressed like a fashionable businesswoman, but was nervous because $10,000 that belonged to a West African drug lord was hidden in her suitcase. It arrived on a later flight. She dashed out of the airport, accidentally skipping a stop in Customs.

Kerman had graduated from Smith College. Though she came from a Boston family of high achievers, doctors and lawyers, she majored in theater. Most of her friends got real jobs. She had no plan, though, and ended up waitressing in Northampton. She hung out with a crowd of similarly situated young people, having affairs with lovers of both sexes, dressing in black, and getting tattoos.

During this time, Piper began an affair with a lesbian neighbor, Nora Jansen. Nora was a drug smuggler, transporting cash and heroin for a West African drug lord named Alaji. He also happened to be her sister, Hester’s, boyfriend. One day, Nora came home with a suitcase full of cash and a new Mazda Miata convertible. Piper enjoyed the perks of Nora’s lifestyle, but the drug activity made her nervous. When a friend decided to move to San Francisco, Piper saw it as a way out of her relationship with Nora. However, Nora suggested they move in together there. Not only did Piper stay with Nora, she used Nora’s cover story to explain the move to her family. Nora’s story was that she and a friend, Jack, were starting a magazine, so Piper told her family she would be working for the magazine in San Francisco...