''Rust and Bone'' is a collection of short stories by Canadian author
Craig Davidson, first published in 2005 by
Viking Canada. Four of the short stories were published in the Canadian literary magazines ''Event'', ''Prairie Fire'' and ''The Fiddlehead'' before being collected in a single work.
Short stories
''Rust and Bone'' includes eight short stories. Although most of the stories stand alone, a few are loosely connected. James Paris, the main character of "A Mean Utility", also appears in "On Sleepless Roads". "On Sleepless Roads" makes reference to an event that took place in "Rocket Ride".
*"Rust and Bone" – A 37-year-old
chicano boxer raised in a U.S. border town recounts the life that led him towards boxing.
*"The Rifleman" – In
St. Catharines
St. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2016, it has an area of , 136,803 residents, and a metropolitan population of 406,074. It lies in Southern Ontario ...
an abusive alcoholic lives vicariously through his teenage son who he believes is a basketball prodigy.
*"A Mean Utility" – A Toronto couple with difficulty conceiving a child raise and train pitbulls to fight in an illegal dogfighting ring.
*"Rocket Ride" – An
Orca whale trainer in
Niagara Falls sustains a life-threatening injury in the middle of one of his performances and struggles to deal with the aftermath.
*"On Sleepless Roads" – A night in the life of a repo man whose wife is suffering from
Bradykinesia.
*"Friction" – A sex addict finds solace working in the porn industry after his life and marriage fall apart.
*"Life in the Flesh" – After accidentally killing an opponent during a fight, a Canadian boxer moves to Thailand and trains problematic rookies there.
*"The Apprentice's Guide to Modern Magic" – Two siblings in their 30s take a road trip across
Southern Ontario to track down the magician father who abandoned them 25 years before.
Adaptations
French director
Jacques Audiard adapted ''Rust and Bone'' into a
film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
in 2012. The adaptation stars
Matthias Schoenaerts and
Marion Cotillard. The script merged two unconnected short stories, "Rust and Bone" and "Rocket Ride", and moved the setting from Canada to France. Additionally, the principal character of "Rocket Ride" was changed to a woman.
References
{{Reflist
Canadian short story collections
2005 short story collections
Short stories adapted into films