The Road of Bones [Hardcover]

Anne Fine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 29, 2008

In school, Yuri is taught that the revolution liberated his country. He learns how the new leaders are always working for the greater good. But the truth is that life for his family and those around him is a brutal, poverty-stricken struggle. The government does nothing except punish those who protest. And one day, to his shock and horror, Yuri himself is branded an “enemy of the state” simply for dropping a few careless words.

In an author’s note, Anne Fine describes The Road of Bones as an adventure-escape story set in “a sort-of Russia, in a sort-of 1930s, under a Stalin-type leader.” This chilling political thriller follows the frantic footsteps of a teenager on the run, a criminal who hasn’t committed a crime, a young man on a path to discovering the truth about how far he will go in order to survive.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up—Yuri's grandmother watched the Czar fall; his parents jumped on the revolutionary bandwagon. Yuri has spent his life celebrating the Five Great Leaders, marching in their honor and singing the praises of his country, but things are changing. People live in fear. Five leaders are whittled down to one. Yuri can see what's happening. He's a smart boy, and it's that smart tongue of his that finds him on the run from the police, trying to survive in the endless, cold steppes. After finding a new home, he soon lands in a mining camp in the far north, sentenced to 10 years for another slip of the tongue. Though Yuri faces many trials and hardships, his actions and narrative voice remain at a static level of maturity, feeling too old for the early Yuri and too young for his hardened self. This makes it even more difficult to connect with the free but merciless protagonist readers are introduced to in the final pages. Fine, known for the comedy of Madame Doubtfire (1988; o.p.) and the seriousness of The Tulip Touch (1997, both Little, Brown), does portray a desolation, cold, hunger, and hardship that vividly bring the story to life. This dark look at an alternate Russia under a totalitarian government is in the dystopian vein of Ann Halam's Siberia (Random, 2005) and Pete Hautman's Rash (S & S, 2006). A good segue into discussions of both historical Communist Russia and modern society.—Cara von Wrangel Kinsey, New York Public Library
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Review

"Succeeds brilliantly on three levels: The crushing atmosphere of Stalinist Russia is brilliantly evoked; Yuri is a memorable character who retains his humanity in the face of all that was inhumane; and political ideas are made palpable as Yuri and other characters reflect upon their conditions."

—Starred, Kirkus Reviews

 

The author of Madame Doubtfire turns to grittier, more political subject matter as she traces the circular route of revolution and its devastating effects on her protagonist. . . . Dark and thought-provoking." —Publishers Weekly

 

"Fine . . . does portray a desolation, cold, hunger and hardship that vividly bring the story to life."

—School Library Journal

 

"Fine's no-holds-barred account will spark fiery discussion." —Booklist

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 213 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); First Edition edition (April 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374363161
• ISBN-13: 978-0374363161
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,887,675 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing Look at Stalinist Russia, September 23, 2010

By 

Carey Hagan (Arlington, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Road of Bones (Hardcover)

"When a man's youth has been kicked and starved out of him, it can't be put back" (208). Yuri is a teenager living in a sort-of Russia under the dictatorship of a sort-of Stalin leader, and mere survival is a challenge, physically and emotionally. Accustomed to brutally hard labor at a young age, he's then exiled to a work camp in the middle of nowhere for basically no valid reason. He realizes that he's nothing but a "cog in a vast national machine," and that his young life is worthless to the political figures for whom he suffers. I liked that this was told from the perspective of a teenager - it seemed credible and well-told. This would be an interesting novel to pair with A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn. A good read, especially for teens or adults who enjoy historical fiction or dystopian fiction.