Helpful Score: 2
Very powerful novel of the post-Vietnam 70s. The story is basically about two dropouts from society - Cutter, a scarred and maimed Vietnam vet and Bone who abandoned his family to drift around California as a gigolo. A very unlikely pair who get involved in a potential blackmail plot of an Arkansas industrialist who may have killed and dumped a young girl in the trash as possibly witnessed by Bone. The novel is full of unforgettable characters and dialog and takes you along a twisted path to a very powerful climax. To me, this is one on the list of 1001 books you must read that is very compelling and appropriately was included on the list. Thornburg is a great story teller! I read another book by him years ago called "To Die In California." I don't remember much about it other than it being an okay thriller. "Cutter and Bone" is a cut above!
