Rule of the Bone: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Very Impressive writing
Review: I was walking down a hall, and thinking that this could be it and that really scared me because I don't think I was ready to die. Not yet anyways. So I had twenty-five dollars to spend in Borders and I loved the Sweet Hereafter so I continued walking until I hit Mr. Banks books which all seemed to have very diverse topics. I grabbed this one (BONE) because I wanted to read about somebody who breaks out of the main stream and forges a rather inspirational path across the country and through the wilds of Jamaica. The scope of the book really is huge and it's ability to make you laugh, get angry, or even cry is incredible. Without a doubt, RULE OF THE BONE is one of the finest novels I have read in my reading career (roughly 18 yrs.) If you want something that will make you glad just to be alive, buy this book and realize how litle you really need to be free.

Rating:
Summary: Typical Banks
Review: Saying Rule of the Bone is typical Banks is a good thing. He writes compelling stories with an edge that never lets you feel too comfortable or become too close to the characters since they're generally such sad human beings. My wife says he's smug, I say he's a realist. However, compared to other Banks novels, Bone is a joyride. Plenty or lighter moments and a protagonist who's spunk makes him worth cheering for if not quasi-likeable. While not a fast read, it's quite literal and moves along as quickly as the locales of the story change. Again, Banks explores familial relationships and how they're affected by societal conditions. Perhaps the only thing keeping this book from getting five stars from me is the knowledge that Continental Drift and the Sweet Hereafter exist. Every time I read a Banks book, besides Cloudsplitter, I wonder why he isn't a more popular writer with the status quo. He's a great writer and this is a good book.

Rating:
Summary: A good book to read
Review: The Rule of the bone is a great book about a young boy trying to find himself, make sence of the world, and to find a home. To find these things he goes through some intersting advengers with intersting peopleto really cool places. It's amazing how Russell Banks creates a genuine teenage boy, and makes how he talks,thinks, and acts just as a teenager would (I know I'm one) .Every teenager(of all ages) should read this book because in some way they will relate to it.

Rating:
Summary: An Entertaining Read
Review: This novel takes you on trips across the country via Chappie that are as real as if you were to take them yourself. This novel is so personal and straightforward- no b.s. It's a sincere account of a lost boy who comes of age in the strangest of places--please read it. You'd be doing a diservice to yourself if you don't.

Rating:
Summary: Rule Of The Bone
Review: This is an excellent book which portrays many of the key factors of teenage life without any beautification. While being interesting the story shows historical pieces of Jamaica and an internal view of Rastafarianism. Banks masters the languages of the characters, from Chappies punk to I-man's "Dat be irie mon." Au sable is closely resembling the reality of the small dumpy towns that cover the country, and the small families living in trailors with drug and alcohal issues. Banks shows all these things amazingly well, but it was not one of my favorite books primarily because although it was interesting it was not related to my interests.

Rating:
Summary: Not as good as expected
Review: I started this book expecting it to really grab me. It never truly did. I thought that the story was an excellent idea and that Banks did a good job of portraying a 14 year old boy, yet I never ended up caring about what happened to Chappie. The book was well arranged and charactors well described. The pace was fast enough to keep it intresting, but not to fast so as to lose you. The story was as unpredictable as Chappie's life. But as a whole I thought it was a good book but far from outstanding.

Rating:
Summary: Rule of the Bone
Review: Russell Banks'book Rule of the Bone has instantaniously become my favorite book.It is an unnerving, intoxicating, spell-binding, "funk-da-fied" ride through the eyes of a 14 year old stoned, homeless, drop out, townie who lives in upstate New York. The story line is amazing and the imagery is mindblowing, and for extra spice Banks adds in tough leather wearing bikers, Rastafarians, the drug scene, and slang...lots of it. To quote the San Francisco Chronical "Banks' ear is perfectly attuned to teenage vernacular." It is a coming-of-age story that will grab you, shake you violently, and leave you stunned, wide-eyed, and smiling.

Rating:
Summary: This is the great American novel
Review: and it's right up there with Mark Twain's Huck Finn. Thank God for the readers who caught the connection between Rule of the Bone and Huck Finn. There's a scene where Bone meets his real father for the first time. The writing is taken directly from Mark Twain's. Banks does what every genius does. He borrows from the masters. This makes the work resonate throughout literary (as well as American) history. But, don't take it too seriously. I think Mr. Banks is poking fun at literary conventions a bit (or is he poking fun at us, the readers who lap it up). He also pokes fun at Americans, I think. For example, his protagonist winds up meeting his real father in Jamaica instead of in an abandoned house on the Mississippi River, where Huck Finn finds his father. So, if Bone is a metaphor for America (as Huck Finn was) does this mean that America can only find its true self in a foreign country, mon?

Rating:
Summary: this story is real...
Review: Where can i begin. I read this book about 2 years ago in my senior year of high school.In my opinion I thought it was one of the best books to have read, especially being in high school.The main character (chappie) is like alot of young people I know (being one myself) that go through things that theyre not totally,hmm how should I say this,sure about in life .. If u have a heart,sense of humour, and imagination that can put you in the book, then by all means pick this book up ..no doubt, a great novel!

Rating:
Summary: a life is a life is a life
Review: I guess Banks gets a little redundant to a cynic, but he tries like hell to create a few new twists in his New England-Caribbean mambo. A friend thought this was the best thing he's ever written and noticed the tie-in with Continental Drift (which I missed). A story that describes so well the life of a lad going through hell is worthy of praise. I would like to see Banks go beyond what he's done so far. (Haven't read Cloudspitter). Bone crosses over generations in dealing with ennui, thrills, dope, freedom, hope and failure. Its a great story with no answers