Rust and Bone: Stories

by Craig Davidson

Book Overview

In steel-tipped prose, Craig Davidson conjures a savage world populated by fighting dogs, prizefighters, sex addicts, and gamblers. In his title story, Davidson introduces an afflicted boxer whose... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0670064424
• ISBN13: 9780670064427
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: Penguin Books Canada
• Length: 239 Pages
• Weight: 1.08 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Amazing book...

Rust and Bone is a "knock you on your backside" type of book. The stories are powerful and emotionally intense. It is impossible to feel comfortable during and after reading these stories. The story about dogfighting was one of the most gruesome stories that I have ever read. Craig Davidson is the real deal. Take a chance on this book and enjoy the ride.

Riveting boook!

Craig Davidson keeps us on our toes as we read about a world dominated by fighting and lifes hard lessons. This is a compelling book that you won't be able to put down. This is a great read that is very "real".

A recommendation for any fiction lending library strong in modern literary achievement.

Fighting is a major theme in Craig Davidson's short stories, which pack the punch of underworld fiction writing at its best. Here are visions of broken beings who struggling for meaning in life - shocking, eye-opening stories which aren't for the meek or leisure reader seeking light-hearted plots. Davidson's settings are fictional and his characters are searching out humanity in the midst of violence: perhaps this is what makes RUST AND BONE a compelling mirror image of modern times - and a recommendation for any fiction lending library strong in modern literary achievement. Diane C. Donovan California Bookwatch

"All I'm saying is, I'm no monster, okay?"

The title story sets the tone for the collection, a brilliant juxtaposition of nature's raw beauty with the harsh reality of the cost of living in the real world. In "Rust and Bone", a young prize fighter takes the punches, throwing himself into the ring, learning over the years the lure and occasional rewards of the fighter's life, disciplined and self-aware. It is unexpected loss that knocks him to his knees, his tough spirit brought low from that which he cannot control, a permanent scar that sears his soul. A father's lifelong obsession with his talented son's basketball skills defines their relationship in "The Rifleman", the father relentless as he pushes his son toward greatness. Unfortunately, the father's drunkenness overrides everything, turning the relationship into a parody, the son angling away from his father's boozy interference, the man left babbling in a haze of memories and rationalization. The reader cannot help but squirm with discomfort, the sour breath of the father an ill wind of failure. "A Mean Utility" is arguably one of the tougher stories, providing some harsh details of dog fighting as one man's means of comprehending fatherhood. Filled with a particular brutality, the man's comprehension is bathed in the blood of violence, an arena inhabited by a breed of humanity that is disturbing. The stories don't get any easier, Davidson taking bites out of life, spitting them back with impunity, in prose that is both difficult to read and masterfully written, a Bosch painting in language, challenging the reader not to look away. Very few writers have the skill to blend ugliness with everyday events, lifting his protagonists out of their comfort zones toward personal revelation. This collection certainly isn't for the faint of heart, but for anyone tough enough to persevere, Rust and Bone is quite an accomplishment. Luan Gaines/2006.

A Knockout First Book- MUST READ

When you see a book by a young new author has received acclaim from literary heavyweights like Thom Jones, Chuck Palahniuk, and Bret Easton Ellis (and Clive Barker, and Peter Straub, and...well, you get my point), you may tend, like me, to be initially excited but then approach the work with an air of guarded skepticism. After all, we live in an era of disproportionate hype where talk show hosts sell us fraudulent memoirs and publishers care more about marketing platforms than a book's content. But please, drop your guard this time. Forget the hype. Just buy this book and read the whirlwind opener (also titled "Rust and Bone") and try to tell me this Davidson guy isn't the real deal. And realize that the "hype" is anything but- people are excited because Craig Davidson has delivered an utter knockout of a first book. The cover might indicate that this is a collection of hard-edged pugilistic tales, but Davidson's range goes far beyond the confines of the ring. In fact, only three of the stories deal centrally with organized combat (boxing, dog fighting, kickboxing) and Davidson proves adept at putting you right in the middle of the sweat and fatigue, the blood and the shattered bones. His delivery of the fight material is a wonderful mesh of passion and sharp technical description that had me cringing one moment, thrilled the next. And in each of those stories there are emotional conflicts that make those battles in the ring mean so much more than the pounding of flesh on flesh. The other stories deal out different shades of conflict- a man's desire to live vicariously through his son while battling alcoholism, a man coping with losing a limb to a killer whale, magician's children dealing with an absent father, a sex addict coming to terms with his desires, and a repo man trying to reclaim the wife he's losing to a degenerative illness. Each deals with its characters in a way that renders them surprisingly sympathetic. Two of the stories, "Rust and Bone" and "On Sleepless Roads," were so emotionally effective that they lingered in my mind days after reading them. Davidson's prose is lean and efficient with the occasional stylistic flourish (in particular when describing settings) and his story setups are intriguing. His characters-the husbands and wives and brawlers and strugglers- have heart. And the sense of hope in defiance of all struggle that Davidson leaves you with make this a Must Read.