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18 Reviews

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
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4.0 out of 5 stars (18 customer reviews)

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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Awesome Book!, April 9, 2002

By

Lara Profitt (Floyd, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The BONE IS POINTED (Paperback)

"The Bone is Pointed"introduces readers to one of the most fascinating detective characters in fiction today. Set in 1940's Australia, Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte presents an interesting and challenging character. The son of a white man and an aboriginal woman,"Bony"brings characteristics of both cultures to his detecting. The story begins when Jeffrey Anderson mysteriously disappears into the bush while out inspecting his employer's cattle station one April morning. Anderson was known around the area as a cruel man with a bad temper, thus his absence is not really mourned. However, a search is begun but yields no results. Five months later Bony is called in to solve this seemingly unsolvable mystery. Using both modern detecting skills and aboriginal intuition and dealing with both English feelings of colonialism and Aboriginal rights, Bony solves the puzzle while narrowly avoiding death himself.
On a deeper level, Upfield presents a political and social critique of the English treatment of Aboriginals in the first half of the 20th century. For the 1940's, Upfield even broaching this topic was radical. Detective fiction provided a way to support civil and social rights for aboriginals in a time when such acts were not accepted. Bony presents a character who combines seemingly "the best of both worlds": a civilized, intelligent, and humorous man who understands the reasons behind both the English treatment of the Aboriginals and the Aboriginals resulting feelings. This book is not only an excellent mystery but also a wonderful look at an often ignored group of people.

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Squatters and aborigines in the outback, June 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The BONE IS POINTED (Paperback)

It's worth a read! My first contact with protagonist Detective Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte, motivates me to read more of Arthur Upfield's literary output.

Gives us some notions about tribal aborigines in Australia half a century, much as a Tony Hillerman novel does for contempary Navajo. (Regretably, I am not competent to evaluate the reliability of these insights.)

Has interesting characterizations of life among squatters in Queensland's outback. Comments on Australia's color line, whose artifacts only recently departed from public policy. Some bits intended to be quite enlightened fifty years ago may strike some readers today as racist. They should press on.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It certainly is, August 27, 2006

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A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: The BONE IS POINTED (Paperback)

This is brilliant. Detective-Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte is one of the most original and endearing characters in mystery fiction. His mother's Aboriginal, and he solves cases in the Australian outback. This book was published in 1947. Learn about life in old Australia AND sink your teeth into a juicy mystery.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Mystery at its classic best
Napoleon Bonaparte is not your average person; he's half aboriginal on his mother's side, his father, British. Read more

Published 16 months ago by Margaret C. Barno

5.0 out of 5 stars Much more realistic than the movie "Australia" :-)
...actually, I liked the movie. But this book is much more hard boiled, full of a lot of detail about the bush ranches. Read more

Published on July 5, 2009 by eric_the_redder

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb
This was the first of Arthur Upfield's books that I read, and then went on to his other books, fortunately a large number, all of them wonderful--plot, characters, but most of all... Read more

Published on January 29, 2009 by Carolyn Blades

5.0 out of 5 stars The Bone is Pointed
What a wonderful adventure this one is! Not only is the murder mystery of the outstanding quality of the Upfield novel, but the insights into the great Australian outback and the... Read more

Published on October 18, 2008 by Sandra Brazier

4.0 out of 5 stars A new convert
The Bone Is Pointed is my first Napoleon Bonaparte mystery, and it was a most pleasant experience. Taking place in Australia, and written by someone who lived there, gives the... Read more

Published on October 5, 2007 by hrladyship

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Free SF Reader
The detective's name in this book is Napoleon Bonaparte, so you would
want people to call you by a nickname as well. Read more

Published on September 3, 2007 by Blue Tyson

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Oz -- 70-odd years ago
1. Some very strange comments below, eg,
"a poignant introduction to" and "a stunning commentary about the nature of race and cultural relations in Australia"; "an... Read more

Published on February 22, 2007 by A reader

4.0 out of 5 stars Well-Intentioned Folly
Arthur Upfield clearly has a grasp of what is required to create a solid piece of detective fiction, and yet, though all the necessaries of the genre are represented (murder... Read more

Published on April 9, 2002 by Reveley Lee

4.0 out of 5 stars The stunning detective captures the past
From the very first page, the reader's mind starts spinning, trying to figure out the mysterious death of a young man. Read more

Published on April 9, 2002 by Jaime Cattano

3.0 out of 5 stars The Bone is Pointed
Arthur Upfield's "The Bone is Pointed" introduces those of us who are not already familiar with him to Napoleon Bonaparte, Upfield's Australian, part-aborigine... Read more

Published on April 8, 2002 by Mike Tarasovic

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Inside This Book (learn more)
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First Sentence:
History repeats itself! Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
mulga forest, cable silk, being boned, gate spanning, south veranda, been boned, boundary gate, lunch camp, pointed bones, mirage water, boundary fence

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Jimmy Partner, Old Lacy, Young Lacy, Green Swamp, Opal Town, John Gordon, Miss Lacy, Sergeant Blake, The Black Emperor, Bill the Better, Inky Boy, Johnny Boss, Jeffery Anderson, Colonel Spendor, Diana Lacy, Pine Hut, Meena Lake, Napoleon Bonaparte, Inspector Bonaparte, Superintendent Browne, Deep Well, Mary Gordon, Chief Commissioner, Captain Loveacre, Jeff Anderson

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