RULE OF THE BONE BY RUSSELL BANKS

If you liked Catcher in the Rye or The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, you need to read Rule of the Bone . It is the story of Bone -- a combination of Tom Sawyer and Holden Caulfield -- and his coming of age. Bone is 14 years old in a normal middle-America town in the '90s who is rebelling against everything he can. Bone begins as a small-time dope dealer who lives in a trailer park, then on the couch of some biker's apartment, an abandoned summer home, an abandoned bus with a young homeless girl and an old rastafarian from Jamaica and finally in Jamaica, where his eyes are opened. Banks does an excellent job of expressing the mindset of a teenage boy, and the first-person narrative is very genuine. The plot may seem unbelievable, but it is also engaging. Be sure to have plenty of time when you start because you won't want to put this one down. ($10)

-- Nate Blair, Backpage Editor

This item appeared in the Features section of the December 6, 1996 issue.

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