Rule of the Bone

infobox Book |
name =
title_orig =
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image_caption = Early edition cover - based on 1st edition artwork
author = Russell Banks
illustrator =
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country = United States
language = English
series =
genre = Bildungsroman novel
publisher = HarperCollins
release_date = 1995
english_release_date =
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages = 320 pp (first edition, hardback)
isbn = ISBN 0436202492 (first edition, hardback)
preceded_by =
followed_by = Cloudsplitter

"Rule Of The Bone" is a 1995 novel by Russell Banks. It is a bildungsroman about the 14-year-old American narrator, Chappie, later dubbed Bone (named for a tattoo that he gets), who, after having dropped out of school, turns to the guidance of a Rastafarian Jamaican illegal immigrant. The novel is split into two halves, the first of which concerns his family struggles in America, and the second takes place in Jamaica. Some critics, such as the New York Times' Michiko Kakutani, describe the book as descending from other novels about rebellious teens, such as J. D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye" and Mark Twain's "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn".Fact|date=February 2007 The book contains frank descriptions of drug use and sexual abuse, which coupled with the age of the narrator, has contributed to the book's controversy.Fact|date=February 2007

One of the book's more intriguing facets is its endless supply of unique characters during the journey of Chappie/Bone. Prior to meeting "I-Man," who serves as a mentor to Bone, allowing him to grasp rituals of the Rasta, Banks' modern-day version of Holden Caufield stumbles upon a great deal of wacky individuals. He originally lives with best friend Russ in a broken down apartment that the boys split with a horde of crazed, drug-addicted bikers, only one of whom turns out to be a decent fellow in the end (This is Bruce, who attempts sacrificing his own life for Bone's during a part when the apartment sets fire). He additionally runs into a child-smut producer, a pair of twin stoners who reside in a bus and are dubbed "bong brothers," and other multi-faceted characters of this unusual ilk.

External links

* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CEEDB1E3FF93AA25756C0A963958260 New York Times Review]