The coexistence of the fantastical landscape with rural realism allows magical portals and ‘whispering’ cornfields to intermingle with beekeeping facts and depictions of small-town insularity.īy coupling Finn with Petey, Bone Gap’s sharp-witted beekeeper, in a partnership based on reciprocal respect and admiration, the novel also captures the raw and genuine intimacy of first love. Laura Ruby’s lyrical prose, spirited humour and textured style make Bone Gap a stand-out novel. The novel’s multi-mystery, multi-dimension trajectory follows a tangled trail of subtle clues for maximum reader intrigue. When he embarks on a mission to find Roza, Finn soon realises he’s just as much a mystery in need of solving. In fact, Finn witnessed the event but his reputation as the local ‘spaceman’ along with his bizarre description of the abductor – likening Roza’s captor to a cornstalk blowing in the wind – inspires only disbelief. When Roza suddenly vanishes, Finn insists she’s been abducted. For the reader, her startling account of personal trauma unfolds. To the townspeople of Bone Gap, Roza is a beautiful enigma. Thereafter, Roza becomes an integral part of Sean and Finn’s existence, enriching their lives with her compassion and Polish charm. The novel’s hero, eighteen-year-old Finn, finds Roza huddled in a barn on the property he shares with his older brother, Sean. Taking its cue from the Greek myth of Persephone and Hades, Bone Gap’s central mystery pivots on the unexplained arrival and then abrupt disappearance of a beautiful young Polish woman. Mythology, feminist fairytale and coming-of-age love story coalesce to form the multifaceted tapestry of Bone Gap.

Bone gap novel