A Cage of Bones [Paperback]

Jeffrey Round (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0854492526 | ISBN-13: 978-0854492527 | Publication Date: September 1997

First published in England to international acclaim in 1997, Jeffrey Round's classic novel, A Cage of Bones, now appears in a new edition. At the beginning of the '90s, an ingenuous young Torontonian named Warden Fields is persuaded to work as a model in Europe's fashion capitals. Italy revels in the opulent splendour of designers like Versace and Ferré, while England is still reeling from the anarchic punk revolution of a decade before. In Italy, Warden is introduced to a world of sensuality and passion, while his relationship with an underground British rock star draws him into illegal political intrigue. Sensitive and subtle, this finely crafted novel weaves together tragic and comic themes in a moving story as its protagonist goes from pop culture icon, through pariah to liberated spirit.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jeffrey Round is author of The P-Town Murders (Cormorant Books) and A Cage of Bones. Forthcoming books include Death In Key West and The Honey Locust (2009) and Vanished In Vallarta (2010). His short fiction and poetry have been included in numerous journals and anthologies, including A Casualty of War (Arcadia Books, Peter Burton, ed., 2008), Bent on Writing (Canadian Women's Press, Elizabeth Ruth, ed.) and Bend Sinister (GMP, Peter Burton, ed.). He was the artistic director of Best Boys Productions, an independent queer theatre company, as well as the founding editor of The Church-Wellesley Review, Canada's first print annual journal for LGBT creative writing. His short film, My Heart Belongs To Daddy, won awards for Best Director and Best Use of Music. He currently lives in Toronto. Visit his website: www.jeffreyround.com. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Heretic Books (September 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0854492526
• ISBN-13: 978-0854492527
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,352,257 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Kamal Al-Solaylee for The Toronto Star Online, Dec 97, December 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Cage of Bones (Paperback)

Sexy and intelligent novel mixing fashion with politics.

Jeffrey Round's A Cage of Bones follows the experiences of Warden, a Toronto gay man who makes it big on the catwalks of Europe. I found Round's writing to be both seductive and insightful. The novel reveals a writer whose life experience has enriched his outlook on life; someone who is now in a position to share some of this with his readers. Round's novel is permeated by this sense of confidence and strong moral vision.

A Cage of Bones is A Room with a View for the gay 90s. It is hilariously funny but its social and political philosophy is astute. The fashion and alternative rock worlds, the two main settings for the novel, are described with meticulous but loving details.

Highly recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Steve Nugent for Fab Magazine, Toronto, April 1998, December 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Cage of Bones (Paperback)

The writing here is graceful and stylish which is in keeping with the theme of the novel - the fashion industry. Who can resist the visual impact of those beauties prancing down the catwalk, trying to make us believe that the clothes mean something to them while we know that they just want us to look at them?

The unsophisticated Warden Fields, from Toronto, is one such, having been pressured to model in Europe by a model agency. He had earlier been spotted in a group of volleyball players at Hanlan's Point for a jean commercial as the all-Canadian boy. So off he goes, in his naive way, to be absorbed into that volatile atmosphere, and to fall for Joshua who puts political activism before commitment, thereby drawing him into illegal activity, and eventually, jail.

The story is fluid and clearly based in the author's experiences in the fashion trade, he is only unconvincing when he assures us, for legal purposes, that it is a work of fiction.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sebastian Beaumont for Gay Times, London, U.K., February 199, December 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Cage of Bones (Paperback)

A Cage of Bones is a story set largely in the modelling world. Warden is Canadian and unaware of the commercial potential of his looks until he is whisked away to fame and fortune by an Italian modelling agency. Jeffrey Round clearly knows the business he is writing about, and gives the story a pleasing twist when he injects his narrative with high drama in the form of Warden's affair with Joshua Behrens, a radical pop star with political ideals, who will drag Warden into deeper trouble than he can possibly imagine.

A good read.