Sticks and Bones

First published 1971

Cover of Sticks and Bones

About the book

Read the full description

A savagely comic portrait of an archetypal, middle class family, Ozzie, Harriet, David, and Rick, falling apart. When David comes back from the war blinded, he is pursued by furies that haunt him. Wanting to return their son to normal, Ozzie offers camaraderie, while Harriet cooks and bakes the foods he once loved, and shares her faith in her beloved religion. But David grows even more vengeful. Ozzie feels the foundation of his world crumbling. In a darkly hilarious scene, a Catholic priest called in to give his blessing is, ingeniously, rebuffed by David. Finally, Ozzie and Harriet break under the pressure, for it seems David is about to turn their home into his nightmare. It’s up to guitar-playing, fudge-eating Rick to save the day and allow the family to return to their cherished status quo with a tidy, ritualistic atrocity all their own.

Description from Hardcover

About the author

David Rabe, born 1940, United States.

Catalogue record

S. French · 96 pages

Publisher
S. French
Pages
96
ISBN
978-0-573-70546-5
Full recordClose
Publisher
S. French
Pages
96
ISBN
  • 978-0-573-70546-5
Author
Rabe, David, 1940–
Statement
Sticks and Bones / David Rabe.
Records
Open Library

Subjects

  • American literature
  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975
  • Drama
  • Veterans
  • Attitudes

Catalogue data checked 5 October 2026