Rule of the Bone: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Heartbreaking and sad but an amazing read!
Review: This book is a modern day Huck Finn and the differences between Mark Twain's work and Russell Banks' could not be more stark or representative of the times in which we live. "Bone" is a young teenage boy trying to find his way in the world. More or less abandoned by his family (in a crucial scene, his down on her heels mother chooses Bone's pathetic stepfather over him with barely a second thought...she does not know that Bone has been sexually abused by the man but that should hardly matter. He's so pathetic anyway that to think a mother would choose this loser over her own child is unbelievable but, then again, that's Banks' whole point), Bone attempts to create a new home for himself and moves from place to place, barely staying ahead of major trouble. With one exception, every adult in the book fails Bone in a way that should make every reader shake his head. The horrible reality is that I believe Bone's story is being played out every day in America. Banks' has done a masterful job in depicting why our youth seem so rootless and out of touch; mainly, it's because their parents' are morally bankrupt and more immature than the children they raise. I loved this book but found it incredibly sad. It ends on a hopeful note, an ending that was required because the reader is rooting so hard for Bone to find his way. We are left with the feeling that at long last he will. Every parent should read this and learn from it.

Rating:
Summary: Rule of the Bone
Review: Rule of the Bone by Russell Banks is a novel about a teen's adventure into life. This book will go into detail about a teen who experiences life as a true adventure. The main character and some other characters, will go through situations that most adults have never and will never go through in their lifetime. The honesty of the writing will certainly leave some people with their mouth wide open in a state of amazement and shock. I have read Rule of the Bone, and on a scale of 1-10 I, personally give it a 6. I agree that for such a popular book it is lower then expected but once you read the book and see my reasons you might agree with me. I enjoyed the book in the beginning because it was as if the book was exciting and fun to read. The sense of excitement kept me turning the pages therefor it wasn't hard to get into the book. Although I would have preferred a dull beginning (in this case) and an intense middle and ending but, unfortunately it was the opposite. As you will read the first few pages you will see that you might have to go back and read something over. This is due to the long sentences which are used throughout the whole book. These long sentences provide the reader with some difficulty and takes away from the pleasure of reading. The books language and vocabulary contains slang and some detailed scenes that might disturb and even disgust the reader. If all of these will prove as a problem, don't stop reading the book, because in the end it doesn't matter how good of a book it was. Instead, go back and read the page again, if slang is a problem read on and try to figure out what is being said. I have had to read this book because it was mandatory for my Social Issues class. And although I had choices of reading other books, the reason I chose this particular book was the title. It sounded exciting and in a teens eyes dangerous. The other reason was the first paragraph, and once you read it you'll know what I mean. I recommend this book to males in particular due to the strong violence and content. If you like "intricate" writing this might be the book for you, and if adventure is what you like this will top anything else you have read. "I opened up the drawer, and inside there was a bag with 20 neatly rolled up joints, a marvelous find." This quote illustrates some of the content which is talked about throughout. This scene takes place in a house which he and a companion broke into; this is the sense of adventure that I was talking about. Although the book is mundane for chapters and chapters until a new adventure begins you wont be too disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: The adventures of Chappie, teenage delinquent
Review: The first part of this book is very good. Chappie, a young teenager with a bad home life, tells his story of smoking pot and selling pot. He leaves home and has quite a few adventures among all kinds of colorful characters --- bikers, lost children, a few stoners, etc. This part of the book is good because you don't care about the plot. It's fun following Chappie from one tight spot to another, reading about his crazy buddies, and wondering what he'll do next.

The book then takes a surprising turn to Jamaica. I don't want to spoil it, so I can't say much else. But the Jamaica part of the book is (a) entirely different in tone from the previous section, and (b) includes some implausible plot twists. I didn't like it very much, especially in comparison to the freewheeling section that preceded it. If you like stories of working class people, teenagers in trouble, and other "underbelly of America" fiction, you'll enjoy this. It's humorous and it feel authentic. But it will let you down by the end.

Rating:
Summary: Who are you, Bone?
Review: The story begins with Chappie (later known as Bone) speaking directly to the reader saying that his story is true. One of my biggest difficulties with this novel was that, at times, it was hard for me to believe him. First of all, let me say that I like Rule of the Bone a lot. Banks has captured the voice of a 14 year-old homeless, pot-smoking, rule-breaking, lost, but genuinely good kid. At times this voice can be annoying, a bit hard to follow or redundant, but most 14 year-olds tend to be from time to time.

Chappie has a crappy life. He's all alone, and when he's not, for the most part, he'd probably be better off by himself because the kid tends to fall in with the wrong crowd- he's got a nasty, abusive drunk for a stepdad, a missing real dad, a bestfriend who's a dropout and thief; he lives with a gang of bikers, meets a child molester, hangs with two crackheads, and then finally finds a pseudo-family with an old rastafarian and a zombee-like orphan girl. It's a book of journies, but of course the real journey is internal...Chappie repeatedly ditching the identity that is forced on him by the neglect and/or actions of others and somehow forging his own. Bone tries to figure out who he is and why the hell he's on this planet, and by the end has a much clearer idea than at the beginning.

The problem I have is that this book, while at times shockingly real and beautifully written, just has too many coincidences. Bone tries to take new paths, but keeps on running into the same old faces. Things just work out too neatly for him sometimes...and "neatly" isn't necessarially "cleanly" because there is a lot of dirty stuff in this kid's life. I personally think the ending's a bit cheesy, too. But, this is a book that has made a lot of teenage boys I know who think "reading is stupid" actually sit down and read to the last page. They all tend to love it a lot, because for the most part, Bone's struggle and his story, feel authentic. So, in the desperate cry of Bone himself, "Bone Rules!!!" (most of the time).

Rating:
Summary: No literary work of art
Review: The story begins in Au Sable as Chappie is kicked onto the street for buying marijuana with his moms money. He stays with his friend in an apartment shared with a gang of drug addicted bikers and becomes their weed dealer. Many strange characters are introduced and many misadventures take place. Chappie eventually meets a Rastafarian and goes to Jamaica with him to find his long lost father. Over all on a scale of one to ten I would give this novel a 6.5. This novel was a quick read and I enjoyed it as I went through even though it had little substance and left me unsatisfied at the end of it. The author, Russell Banks made the everyday things he described seem interesting and had a way of making it hard to put the book down as he would wind up these long descriptive sentences. His writing style made it easy to read through pages quickly because he used no quotation marks and wrote in long sentences but it was burdening as he tried to have the voice of the modern teenager by using excessive "likes" and "whatevers''. His attempt at a youthful voice would seem hard to decipher for the older reading audience. An asset that plagued this book was its use of pure coincidence as old characters are reintroduced in random places as if Russell Banks doesn't know how to introduce brand new characters, he also had a hard time keeping the whole story realistic. This novel mainly reminds me of Catcher in the Rye only in the modern world. It holds some realism's that were not common during the time Catcher in the Rye was written and is much more outrageous and less realistic but overall it is the story of a lost and misdirected youth. I believe this novel is mainly directed towards teenagers and would be hard to interpret for the older audience. "We were like free, free to just be ourselves, driving fast with the windows down and the heater blasting, smoking cigarettes and eating junk food and drinking beer..." This sentence really sums up how the novel was written, it shows the youthful tone and the run on sentences and the tragedy of a young man fallen into the slums of homelessness drugs and alcohol.

Rating:
Summary: The Rule
Review: Rule of the Bone by Russel Banks is an instant classic. Banks weaves a beautiful tale of redemption and the sins committed against a lost boy named Bone in an unforgiving world. Bone's criminal attitude towards all property and ethics does not hinder the attachment you gain with him. You can not believe what hell Bone goes through as you turn the pages. Throughout the entire book Bone is rejected from the people who we take for granted loving. His Mom, Dad, Step Dad and entire family look at him as an exile. This book is a eye opener. So many people today need to read about the injustice inherent in modern society. The book is the story of a Punk, Bone, who starts his journey around the Adirondack mountains. Bone chooses to live with a friend rather than live with his alcoholic mother and perverted father. He leaves the pain of his home to live with his friend Russ. Russ lives with Adirondack Iron, a biker gang and when the house burns down Bruce, Bone's only friend runs into the house to save Bone not knowing Bone has already escaped and burns up with the house. Throughout the entire book I don't think there are any commas used except for lists or quotation marks and the story is a first person book. Bank's ear is perfectly tuned into the modern anti-culture and Bank's Bone is the quintessential member of this insurrection. Bone's character arcs throughout the entire book and while his principles (or rather lack of them) don't change he changes his lifestyle from a homeless dropout to a Rastafarian when he meets another homeless man from Jamaica and helps him get back home. They save a little girl who was raped for porn films and Bone and the Jamaican, I-man, grow to love her. Eventually they scrounge enough money to send her to her mom. They find out later that she was killed because of neglect from her mom. Bone meets his long lost Dad and while at first likes him until he realizes what a horrible person he is and then his Dad kills the last person Bone ever cared for. Rule of the Bone is the story of the worst of the worst reclaiming his soul and harmony. You really feel for Bone and wish you could help him badly but you have to trust in his judgment that will eventually find the peace that so many people get for free. You can only hope that his vision, however fogged, will finally see the light. In conclusion I say "Bravo Mr. Banks!" because he wove a romance of the underdog which is definitely more inspiring and thought provoking than any coming-of-age book I have ever read.

Rating:
Summary: An intense eye-opener for a young reader
Review: Drinking, smoking, stealing, boning, lying, and blowing things up are among the big picture Chappie (or Bone) is introduced to as he travels his winding river of a life to find his place in the world. He begins with his earlier years as a child, telling the reader of his crappy life with his dead-beat stepfather, a mother who would do anything to keep her beloved son, but nonetheless cares very little about her new husband's abusive ways, and a biological father who doesn't give two cents about his maturing son.

With Bone trying harder and harder to impress his mom and stay out of trouble, he only seems to make more for himself. Bone is fourteen years old in a normal mid-American town in the '90s who is rebelling against everything and anything he can. After being kicked out of his house because of stealing from the mall, he continues as a small-time dope dealer living above the Video Den with his best friend, Russ, and a group of hardcore bikers. Stealing previously stolen items from the bikers, such as TV's and VCRs and the like, Bone finds himself tied and bound by tape, looking for a way to escape from them when his best friend-a drop-out who loses his minimum wage job- comes to his rescue, only to start a devastating fire that makes headlines the next day saying ONE DEAD-TWO MISSING. The two flee in a stolen fire truck only to meet two stoner-brothers who screw them over big time. A vacant summer home becomes the epitome of bad ideas as both boys ruin the house and their friendship; Russ leaving Bone to be with his forgiving aunt. Bone leaves to find an abandoned bus with a young homeless girl, Froggie, and an old Rastafarian, I-Man, from Jamaica who teaches him self worth as he attempts to rediscover himself. Bone and I-Man manage to find Froggie's mother, returning the miserable little girl to people who can love her better than the child porn master that ruled her before. But not until Bone travels with I-Man to Jamaica, are his eyes really opened; meeting his biological father and going into a heavy drug-dealing business amongst the hardships teens like Bone may face at any time. Bone's desperate exploration for love and a home become his ultimate task.

This book was a bona fide eye-opener for the reader because its mundane proposal of life and the challenges within it seem so realistic the reader becomes involved in the book. Bank's portrayal of loss, suffering, weakness and the absence of love, depict his semi-poetic writing style as he describes every waking moment of Bone and his sprint for the right race. Through out 'Rule of the Bone', I had to stop to think about the decisions I've made through life and how much damage drugs could enforce if used in the future. I recommend this book for any aspiring writer and any aggressive readers because Bank's description of Bone's disputes, assessments, faults, and vicissitude will enlighten you until the very end.

Rating:
Summary: Ahhh Jamaica
Review: "Rule of the Bone" was my first introduction to Mr. Banks. What an adventure. He writes with spirit and so intelligently, once you read fine lit as this you see the rest of popular fiction for what it is. eck. Pick it up. It's smart, funny, If I still had my copy I share some of my favorite lines, I highlighted a bunch for his wit and insight. One of my favorites Russell Banks.

Rating:
Summary: Rule of the Bone
Review: Rule of the Bone is mainly dealing with teenagers giving in to the temptations of drugs. This book can relate to people both young and old. The portrayal of drugs in this novel teaches the readers the consequences of a young adult's actions.
In the beginning you see teenagers as normal students that attend school. Yet as the character's teenage life continues, they grow more and more apart from their parents, which lead teenagers to try and explore new things. The process of experimenting and withdrawing from drugs is a very hard process but it is even harder when you no longer know who you are. This book gives you a closer look at each individual's personalities in different situations. Rule of the Bone also shows the characters coming to the realization of what point they are at in their lives and them seeking out ways of solutions. Drugs may seem fun for awhile for these characters but in the long run it really damages you.
I would recommend this book because I think it would help teens and their parents have a better understanding of each other and the issues they will face. I think this novel will assist teens that are abusing drugs to comprehend the affects it has not only on your life but the people around you as well. As parents, they should understand what kind of pressures their kids will be put in and know that being there as parents really helps their kids.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: I think everyone has certain books they will associate with periods of their life. This is one of those books. I'm not going to sit here and tell you this is the best book I've ever read. But I will tell you this is an amazing story and that Russell Banks is very talented and under appreciated writer. I had never heard of him untill my roomate gave me his book, and now I'm turned on to his other works. Do yourself a favor, read it!