The Bone Readers Explained

The Bone Readers
Author:Jacob Ross
Orig Lang Code:en
Country:United Kingdom
Language:English
Series:Camaho Quartet
Genre:Novel, crime fiction
Set In:Caribbean and London
Publisher:Peepal Tree Press
Pub Date:24 September 2016
Media Type:Print: hardback
Pages:224
Awards:Jhalak Prize
Isbn:9781845233358
Oclc:969574038
Dewey:823.92
Congress:PR9275.G73 R678
Preceded By:Pynter Bender
Followed By:Black Rain Falling

The Bone Readers is a 2016 novel by Grenadan British author Jacob Ross, the second in his "Camaho Quartet."[1] [2] In 2017, it won the inaugural Jhalak Prize.[3] [4] [5] In 2022, The Bone Readers was included on the "Big Jubilee Read" list of 70 books by Commonwealth authors, selected to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II.[6]

Plot

The novel is set on the island of Camaho, based on Ross's native Grenada (Kalinago: Camerhogne).[7]

Michael "Digger" Digson testifies in a murder case and is recruited into a plainclothes homicide squad led by the mysterious Chilman, who is obsessed with the disappearance of a young man several years ago. Digger is also researching a cold case: his mother's, who was murdered by police when he was a child.

Reception

The Bone Readers was praised in The Guardian by Bernardine Evaristo, who wrote: "Ross's characters are always powerfully delineated through brilliant visual descriptions, dialogue that trips off the tongue, and keenly observed behaviour. He excels at creating empathetic female characters. […] The Bone Readers is a page-turner, but its insights and language are equally testament to a literary novel of impressive depth and acuity."[8]

It won the inaugural Jhalak Prize in 2017,[9] with judge Musa Okwonga describing it as "by turns thrilling, visceral and meditative, and always cinematic", and Catherine Johnson saying that it "effortlessly draws together the past and the present, gender, politics and the legacy of colonialism in a top quality Caribbean set crime thriller".[10] [11] Co-founder of the prize and chair of judges Sunny Singh characterised the novel as "not only as an exemplar of the genre but for rising well above it".

In 2022, The Bone Readers was included on the Big Jubilee Read, a list of 70 books by Commonwealth authors produced to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee.[12] [13]

Notes and References

  1. News: Al . Creighton . Stabroek News. Caribbean disunity: The impoverishment of Caribbean writers. 20 June 2021. 30 April 2022.
  2. Book: Ross, Jacob. The Bone Readers. 30 July 2018. Little, Brown Book Group. 9780751574470 . Google Books.
  3. News: The Booktrekker: Grenada . 30 April 2022 . Global Literature in Libraries Initiative . 20 June 2021 . en.
  4. News: Review no 138: The Bone Readers by Jacob Ross (Grenada) . 30 April 2022 . Imogen is Reading and Watching the World: On Books, Film, Art & More . 23 February 2021.
  5. News: Onwuemezi . Natasha . Jacob Ross wins inaugural Jhalak Prize . 30 April 2022 . The Bookseller . 17 March 2017 . En.
  6. News: Sherwood. Harriet. The God of Small Things to Shuggie Bain: the Queen's jubilee book list. 18 April 2022. The Guardian.
  7. News: Lee . John Robert . Depth and drama in Ross's Grenadian crime fiction . 30 April 2022 . Repeating Islands: News and commentary on Caribbean culture, literature, and the arts . 11 May 2020 . en.
  8. News: The Bone Readers by Jacob Ross review – into a Caribbean island's sordid underbelly. 28 September 2016. The Guardian. Evaristo . Bernardine. Bernardine Evaristo. 30 April 2020.
  9. News: Caribbean crime thriller wins inaugural prize for BAME writers . 30 April 2022 . The Daily Observer . 20 March 2017.
  10. Web site: The Bone Readers . www.peepaltreepress.com. 20 April 2022.
  11. News: The best recent crime novels – review roundup. Wilson. Laura. 20 March 2020. The Guardian. 30 April 2022.
  12. Web site: Sherwood. Harriet. The God of Small Things to Shuggie Bain: the Queen's jubilee book list. 18 April 2022. The Guardian. 30 April 2022.
  13. Web site: The Big Jubilee Read: Books from 2012 to 2022. BBC. 17 April 2022. 30 April 2022.