The bone is pointed [Import] [Unknown Binding]

Arthur Upfield (Author)

Product Details

• Unknown Binding: 240 pages
• Publisher: Pan Boooks (1960)
• ASIN: B0000CKHOT
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

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.

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

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

By 

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.