Sharyl reviewed Cutter and Bone by Newton Thornburg
Review of 'Cutter and Bone' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Whoa, this is one dark crime novel populated by some disturbed people. It focuses on Richard Bone, a once successful marketing exec who is now a drifter, thanks to crippling anxiety and some kind of breakdown. He is sleeping on the floor of a house owned by Alex Cutter, a disable Vietnam vet and his girlfriend Mo, and their infant son. The three of them live in poverty, just managing to feed themselves. One night, Bone runs out of gas on his almost-kaput car and walks the rest of the way home. Along the way, he sees some guy driving an expensive car screech to a halt, dump something in a garbage can, and speed away. At this point, Bone does not realize what he's just seen.
That evening, news of a murder is broadcast, the victim being a young woman whose body was dumped in a garbage can. Of …
Whoa, this is one dark crime novel populated by some disturbed people. It focuses on Richard Bone, a once successful marketing exec who is now a drifter, thanks to crippling anxiety and some kind of breakdown. He is sleeping on the floor of a house owned by Alex Cutter, a disable Vietnam vet and his girlfriend Mo, and their infant son. The three of them live in poverty, just managing to feed themselves. One night, Bone runs out of gas on his almost-kaput car and walks the rest of the way home. Along the way, he sees some guy driving an expensive car screech to a halt, dump something in a garbage can, and speed away. At this point, Bone does not realize what he's just seen.
That evening, news of a murder is broadcast, the victim being a young woman whose body was dumped in a garbage can. Of course, Bone knows right away that he saw this, but does report this to the cops until he is forced to (that's another story) Later on, Bone will, quite by accident, see the picture of a wealthy tycoon in the paper, and exclaim, "It's him!" Cutter hears this, and will not let Bone walk it back--always with an eye for profit, Cutter proposes a blackmail scheme.
Bone tries very hard to not be a part of this, but he is too involved in Alex Cutter's life. Cutter is extremely disturbed and knows how to cause trouble anywhere he goes. It's a sign of self destructiveness for anyone to get too close to him. The plot thickens, and Alex draws Bone into the scheme, as well as the sister of the victim. He uses her horribly, because she is also short of self love. Actually, all the women in this book are very troubled, especially Mo.
I will not reveal anything more about the plot. Believe it or not, there are some funny moments. At times, this humor put me in mind of Inherent Vice (Thomas Pynchon). This novel also takes place in the 1970s and has a postwar anti-establishment attitude voiced mostly by Cutter.
This is a great novel, and I recommend it, with a "dark, despairing warning."
