Dimensions
130 x 197 x 18mm
In steep-tipped prose, Craig Davidson conjures a savage world populated by fighting dogs, prize-fighters, sex addicts, gamblers, a repo man and a disappearing magician.
The title of the lead story, '28 Bones', refers to the number of bones in a boxer's hands; once broken, they never heal properly, and the fighter's career descends to bouts that have less to do with sport than with survival. In 'A Mean Utility' we enter an even more desperate arena: dogfights where Rottweilers, put bills and Dobermans fight each other to the death. Davidson's stories are small monuments to the telling detail.
The hostility of his fictional universe is tempered by the humanity he invests in his characters and by his subtle and very moving observations of their motivation. In the tradition of Hemingway, 'Rust and Bone' explores violence, masculinity and life on the margins.
