Gangsta Bone.
by Russell Banks
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 1212)
Read in July, 2008
It’s just as well that I’m not particularly fond of Holden Caulfield because I keep seeing people comparing these two characters, but Rule of the Bone’s Chappie is quite different. He’s a bit less irritating, and unlike Holden, he doesn’t constantly think everyone is phony or wants to save the children from losing their innocence, which I think is silly. It’s not going to be a perfect world whether you save innocence or not. Alas, this is not a review for The Catcher in the Rye, ...more
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Read in March, 2008
Rule of the bone Russel Banks Harper Perennial,1996,400pp.,$13.95 ISBN 0060927240
“Life isn’t perfect”. As cliché as this may sound, it proves to be true in circumstances that involve individuals who are surrounded by negative influences. In Rule of The Bone, by Russell Banks, the protagonist Chappie is an exampl...more
“Life isn’t perfect”. As cliché as this may sound, it proves to be true in circumstances that involve individuals who are surrounded by negative influences. In Rule of The Bone, by Russell Banks, the protagonist Chappie is an exampl...more
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Rule of the Bone is a coming of age novel written by Russell Banks that tells the story of a disaffected youth named Bone. The book is written entirely from Bone’s point of view and gives a fascinating account of his life as young American teenager. Bone’s parents are divorced and his mother, whom he was living with, has recently remarried. Bone has a bad relationship with both his mother and his new stepfather eventually runs away from home to start his new life as derelict delinquent. B...more
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Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
people interested in the psychology of disenfranchised youth and counter-culture
I read this book pretty fast as the plot is subversive fun; something is always happening to the rapidly evolving main character who takes the name of "Bone" after a tattoo he gets with a witless friend. Originally his extreme youth and lack of options make him seem like a dumb generation no-where type groomed for and destined to nothing but a taste for violence. But as the plot skids on, Bone develops into a fairly thoughtful, brave and deep kid whose extreme fate seems to be pulli...more
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Read in December, 2007
Just because I couldn't put it down doesn't mean it gets 4 or 5 stars. I'm a sucker for most coming of age books, especially one featuring a bad-ass, good-hearted kid. Yes, like Holden. But no, Bone is no Holden. Holden's love of his sister Phoebe to me is way truer than Bone's love for Rose, which is a little thin. We barely see him interact with Rose except for a few conversations in which Bone implores Rose to either leave Buster or go home to her mother. Are we supposed to feel somethi...more
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Read in March, 2008
This is another one of those books lying around our house that my boyfriend read and loved as a teenager.
Rule of the Bone is about Chappy, a boy who later changes his name to Bone after he runs away from his small hometown in upstate NY. Bone embarks on the adventure every adolescent boy dreams of: squatting in a luxury cabin in the woods, escaping from a middle-aged pervert, living in a hippie bus with an old rasta and adopted little sister. Then he goes to Jamaica where he smokes a lot...more
Rule of the Bone is about Chappy, a boy who later changes his name to Bone after he runs away from his small hometown in upstate NY. Bone embarks on the adventure every adolescent boy dreams of: squatting in a luxury cabin in the woods, escaping from a middle-aged pervert, living in a hippie bus with an old rasta and adopted little sister. Then he goes to Jamaica where he smokes a lot...more
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Read in July, 2007
Rule of the Bone is told in the point of view of a 14 year old boy named Chappie. This book is somewhat a spin off of The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Chappie, a drug addict, has dropped out of school. Because of the pressure he has at home Chappie leaves home to join his 16 year old friend Russ. From then on he is sent on wild adventures with Russ until he befriends a little girl named Froggie and also meets an old African American named I-Man. I-Man teaches him a great deal and somewh...more
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recommends it for:
those that think holden caulfield is a little, priviledged bitch
<i>Rule of the Bone<i> is a book about a fourteen year old kid who fails out of school, is already hooked on drugs, and is being secretly abused my his stepfather. I know this sounds dark, but Bone, the main character, is, perhaps, one of the most "together" narrators. He knows his flaws and the world's flaws, but this does not stop him from living the existence he chooses--to be homeless and kind of a mallrat. Have you ever met a complete druggie loser and have realized...more
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I'm not done with it yet, but its terrible. I'm so annoyed by both Bone & the writers style of writing that I'm ready to throw it out the window. I have to read it for school and I was all excited because it finally seemed like we were going to read a book that legit discussions could occur over. But I'm so disappointed. I mean, Bones annoying, and the fact that they called this a modern day Catcher in a rye is a total slap in the face to salanger. I mean, this storys just so unrealistic tha...more
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Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
anyone who likes depressing books
Rule of the Bone is about a boy named Chappie, runs away from home and crashes with his friend Russ, in a video store, but then a fire happens, and Chappie and Russ are running from place to place. Chappie gets a tattoo of crossbones, which is how he gets the name Bone. Later on he talks to his grandmother who tells him where his father is,in Jamiaca, he goes there and he meets his father, but then he leaves because he wants to go back to his mom and stepfather. Before I read this book I felt li...more
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Read in October, 2007
Joshua-- I'd love to talk to you about this book, next time I see you (soon!)... There was a lot that I liked about it: some really moving moments; a daring plot; questions about race, power and violence; a way of tilting common conceptions of right and wrong... I have to admit that there were a few things that turned me off, too... There were many times when I felt like he was trying too hard with the YA first-person voice. At times it felt a little too Holden Caufield-y, and at other times I j...more
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Read in October, 2007
My colleague, mentor and friend, Byron Jones, passed away two days ago. He had raved about this book, gave me a copy, and made me promise to read it. I'm just sorry I didn't get to it in time to discuss it with him. But it will remind me of his passion for both books and teaching.
UPDATE: Byron, you were right. This book has a lot to offer.
I can't believe I got so into a book that so heavily depends on marijuana as a plot device. But it works. And there's some sincere and beautiful wisdom...more
UPDATE: Byron, you were right. This book has a lot to offer.
I can't believe I got so into a book that so heavily depends on marijuana as a plot device. But it works. And there's some sincere and beautiful wisdom...more
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Read in January, 2004
recommends it for:
everyone
One my absolute favorite books. Seriously, top ten. I've read it three times now.
A coming of age tale about a run away/abandoned 14 year old boy in upstate New York named "Chappie" a.k.a. Bone, who through a serious of tragic and comedic (yes both) events changes his name, gets a tattoo, saves a child, leaves the country, and finds and loses the family he always wanted.
The best part about this book is its voice. The second best thing is its heart. The third best thing are...more
A coming of age tale about a run away/abandoned 14 year old boy in upstate New York named "Chappie" a.k.a. Bone, who through a serious of tragic and comedic (yes both) events changes his name, gets a tattoo, saves a child, leaves the country, and finds and loses the family he always wanted.
The best part about this book is its voice. The second best thing is its heart. The third best thing are...more
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
anyone who likes to read about growing up
This book is about growing up. The main character Chappie is kicked out of his house because he was founded stealing from his parents and selling their possesions to make money for drugs. He goes on a adventure with his best friend Russ, who later left. He goes through a unforgetable adventure to find himeself. He encounter many things on his journey. He meets many people who helped him. He also encounter his real father but he wasn't who he wanted them to be, so he took off again. I learnt that...more
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Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
teens?
i didn't really like this book at first becasue ithe author uses way too much curses and inappropriate language. in fact, because of my constant exposal to this book, i got sick from the cursing. then later when i was able to focus more on the story line, it was actuallly an okay book... Chappie or Bone, left his corrupted life and went around to explore what he could do on his own. Now this includes gettig high on drugs and finding his real father whom he never met before. Even though he sounds...more
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Read in January, 2007
recommends it for:
People who like angsty protagonists
Pages: 200+
This was probably one of the few books I enjoyed reading during the summer. The characters were so different, yet they found ways to embrace their differences and be friends. I've heard a lot of reviews saying it's an updated version of Catcher, but really I don't see it. Sure, the protagonist is a little angsty. He's a teenage guy who finds faults in the world. For me, the comparison ended there and that's how I liked it. I connected a lot to Bone's story. He was a relatable charac...more
This was probably one of the few books I enjoyed reading during the summer. The characters were so different, yet they found ways to embrace their differences and be friends. I've heard a lot of reviews saying it's an updated version of Catcher, but really I don't see it. Sure, the protagonist is a little angsty. He's a teenage guy who finds faults in the world. For me, the comparison ended there and that's how I liked it. I connected a lot to Bone's story. He was a relatable charac...more
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Read in April, 2008
Since I'm such a fiction snob, I guess I rate highly all of the fiction books that can keep my attention for more than a chapter. But this book was really great. When I first started reading it I didn't think much of it...except that I couldn't put it down. But, by the time I got to end of it I realized that this book is really great. I absolutely love the voice of the narrator/main character. When you're reading this book it's not as if you're reading a story that the character wrote but rathe...more
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Rule of the Bone is a contemporary coming-of-age/journey story that shares some strong bloodlines with Huck Finn and Catcher in the Rye The latter two are in many minds THE archetypal American coming-of-age novels, so Banks is drawing from a pretty strong lineage.
Not a great story, per se, but the writing is strong and expressive. Banks nails the voice of Chappie, the young narrator, perfectly. The plot didn't develop and come together as well as I would have liked, and...more
Not a great story, per se, but the writing is strong and expressive. Banks nails the voice of Chappie, the young narrator, perfectly. The plot didn't develop and come together as well as I would have liked, and...more
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(I'm reprinting this from my review of another edition, here w/in Goodreads) The finest accomplishment of a splendid contemporary's career. RULE OF THE BONE takes on the kind of lost child most of us would far prefer to ignore -- a mall rat with a fondness for weed, medicating the pain out of his own broken and abused home. The novel keens the tragedy of America's neglected young people like no other I know, lashing brilliantly into the commercial forces that turn a seven- or eleven-year-old int...more
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Read in January, 2000
Definitely captures a very real and accurate sense of the youth culture in the North Country of NY -- the Adirondacks and around Plattsburgh, where I was born and grew up. I had many experiences similar to those of the main character. The only thing that, in the years since I read this book, still sticks in my craw is that two homeless white minors, accompanied by a Rasta with a huge pole in his hand--none of whom have passports--manage to board the plane to Jamaica without any ploy or trick. ...more
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