The Bone Cage- Realistic Fiction

        The Bone Cage is a great fiction book that can be classified as a realistic fiction. Since the story revolves around two athletes training for the Olympics while having to overcome emotionally experiences a long the way; this can easily be something that could have actually happened. There are Canadian athletes all around Canada that with no doubt went through the same routines of intense training as Sadie and Digger did. Although the story isn’t true, it is defiantly a story that can compare to most Olympic athletes. Many people wonder how Olympic athletes become so great and so fit so after reading this story it kind of sets what these athletes do, to reality. I noticed even on the back of the book an associated professor of Angie Abdou wrote, “The Bone Cage immerses the reader in a passionate plot that is all the more compelling because of its realism.”  I agree with this. All the readers know this is a fiction book but the way she created the characters and the description she made of their lives made it seem so realistic and close to reality for most elite athletes.

The Bone Cage- Literary Criticism/ Likeable Author

After I had done some research on the author, Angie Abdou, I found that the entire book can relate to her life and others in it. Since the book has a reflection on the her life, I chose the traditional approach to be one of my 2 literary criticism approaches. There isn’t an exact or important paragraph that can specifically relate to the traditional approach but there are many aspects throughout the book that can. The books takes place mainly at the University of Calgary because the two athletes are students their. Angie was also a student from the University of Calgary and this is where she got her Ph.D in Canadian literature. Also the main character Sadie is someone passionate about swimming and has been doing it since the age of 6. She competes competitively and it was stated at the end of the book that she will also compete for as long as she can. This relates completely to Angie Abdou because she to has been swimming since the age of four and currently competes at the Masters level. I think this character is someone she wanted to be but then again wanted to start a life as well. Therefore she still continues training but not as far as for the Olympics. Angie’s brother was a professional wrestler and did compete in the Olympics just like Digger in her book. Both main characters relate to her and her brother and the setting relates to where she grew up in and even where she lives today, Fernie BC. If I were to rank this book using the traditional approach I would give it 10 out of 10. Yes it is a perfect ranking but I Think she did a great job incorporating her life into the story and the time it was written in. When I read The Bone Cage, it became one of my favourite books. I love how Angie Abdou wrote a story through the point of view of two athletes. Any story about a Canadian athlete just inspires me whether its fiction or non-fiction. The way she described their lives and emotions made it seem so real. After reading this book I would most defiantly love to read other books by her. My new favourite type of read is now sports fiction and these are the only kinds of books she writes; so I’m positive I would love them all.

The Bone Cage- Setting

This book took place in Calgary; mainly at the Calgary University. It never stated the exact date but I assumed it was in 1999 to 2000 because the two main characters were training for the Sydney Olympics which took place in 2000. The athletes were always at the school training and if they weren’t, they were at the Calgary home. I think the setting of the book didn’t play a huge role in relation to the theme but in some ways it did. It didn’t because I think it would have made no difference what province or city it took place in as long as it was in Canada. The setting being in Canada just brought more realism to the book for me because I can relate. Canada is my country and it is awesome to have read a book on our athletes and not the Americans. But as for having the setting be placed at a University it really had a great relation to the theme-passion. With the setting taking place at the University it made the passion behind Sadie and Digger’s goal for the Olympics be more inspiring. These are just two young people training at their University for something as big as the Olympics. Normally when you think of University, you think of young students studying for a future career, but instead these are just two young athletes going to school not for the studies but to put their life on hold and train with some of the best coaches. So I really think the province it self doesn’t have any effect because any province in Canada would portray passion in its athletes because it’s Canada. But as for being at a University rather a facility for only Olympic training athletes, it made it easier to see the passion behind a student because you can really see that they’ve put their life on hold when comparing them to others in University per say.  

The Bone Cage- Theme

After reading this book it was clear the theme was passion. The two main characters, Sadie and Digger, display passion for not only their dream of a gold medal but for the companions in their lives. Right at the beginning it shows how determined they are when competing in the Olympic trials. Neither of them gave up and the thoughts that went through there mind just inspired me and probably many other readers because you can just see how bad they wanted the win- they were so passionate about what they were doing. Even through the ordinary routines, the intense workouts, the overwhelming physical, psychological, and emotional commitment, they’re passion still remained. Sadie’s strong affection exceeds the world of swimming when her grandma falls ill and Digger’s passion can be seen outside the wresting mats after his best friend becomes severely depressed. This happens about mid way of the book and here again I found that there emotion was so strong for the family member and friend that it just constantly inspired me. When the athletes’ paths fatefully cross, the passion in their relationship allows them to deal with the realization that they are both near the end of a life’s dream. Throughout the book both athletes questioned what would happen at the end when they had nothing to train for. Now with them having each other and truly falling for each other, they’ve realized they will always have each other. Therefore I believe the theme is beyond determination and drive and it is really the passion behind everything that have them the ability to commit.

The Bone Cage- Turning point

          The theme of this story is still passion. Sadie and Digger show their love strongly for everything in life; for their training and even for each other. For my essay I think the three major points can be shown through: 1. Passion for their sport, 2. Passion for friends and family, 3. the passion in both Sadie and Digger’s relationship. But for the climax of the story, it is defiantly when Sadie is badly injured in a car accident with Digger. This is the major turning point because the entire story has so far been centered on Sadie training for the Olympics and how she defeats the obstacles that get in the way. Now, there is simply nothing she can do and this really changes what was expected. Her back was almost broken and she had to wear a full brace for 3 months. This gave her no chance for even stepping into the pool to train and left her with no time to recover before the Olympics. With this being the climax it was almost a disappointment for me. I was really looking forward to seeing a triumphant win or at least a medal at the Olympics. This book is still one of my favourite books, although I do normally like an unexpected ending, for some reason with this book I wished it was a happy ending. I really love when athletes who work hard get their goals granted in the end because they deserve it. So it almost seems like her life was wasted because Sadie put it on hold to accomplish her Olympic dream yet she will never have the chance to reach it.

The Bone Cage- Conflict

Since Sadie and Digger are two athletes training for the Olympics, any type of conflict that enters their life will affect them drastically. Although the accident Digger and Sadie get into while on their way back from a small weekend vacation, changed both their lives forever. Sadie was so badly injured that her dream of winning a gold medal at the Olympics was history. The entire book has been based on her training and goals for the Olympics, until near the end her dreams were crushed. The entire plot of the book was changed because as a reader I assumed the ending would be of her accomplishment at the Games. This not only conflicted with Sadie physically and emotional but conflicted with Digger physiologically. Sadie did finally realize that her dream was gone and becoming better was her knew goal, but since Digger was the driver at the time of the accident, he brought it all upon himself. He felt like it was his fault she wasn’t able to go to the Olympics and was guilty about even training. This affected his performance in practice because he just couldn’t stop thinking about how he crushed the dreams of someone he loves and also the fact that the dream was the same as his own. They both wanted to go to the Olympics but in reality Digger was the only one capable of doing so.

The Bone Cage- Change in Character

There are two main characters in this book; Sadie and Digger. They didn’t change drastically but there point of view on Olympics and their life later did change. Sadie would only think about swimming at the beginning and her goal to get gold at the Olympics. But after the days went on and she was constantly training and realized she really had nothing but that, her point of view on the Olympics changed. She still loved swimming but she would always question herself what was supposed to happen when her life’s dream was done? This was the exact same for Digger; he to didn’t know what to expect after. When Sadie’s grandma died she went into depression and missed a couple of practices. Though she realized that she was wasting her dream away so she smartened up and trained hard again. But later on when she got into an accident and would not be able to compete at all, she surprisingly wasn’t depressed about it. Yes, she was upset but in reality she knew there was nothing she could do. From seeing how she was in the beginning, she would have been extremely depressed and angry with life, but as she had more thought into reality, she became a changed person. Digger still had his dream in mind but he became more relieved knowing that he had something to look forward to after the Olympics, and that was Sadie.

The Bone Cage- Self/ World Relation

This book I can easily relate to because I am an athlete myself, maybe not at that level but I also love to compete in sports. I loved reading this book because I always wondered what went through Olympian athletes minds- How they felt before a race or if they really wanted to be training that hard. I found that in order to become an athlete at such an elite level, you really want to put your life into it and you got to love it. There are so many people today that dream to become NHL or NFL players, but to become an Olympian is something very different. A person today will have the skills to become an athlete in the NFL but if someone told them they weren’t going to be paid- more than half would decline the offer. Everything today is about money. People think of how rich the professionals get, not the fact that they want to train hard to become the best. (Maybe 2 out of 20 would think that) This is not the case for Olympians in my opinion; and I’m talking Canadian Olympians. They get paid barely any money to put their life on hold to train harder than any athlete in the world so they can represent our country. They clearly don’t do it for the money; they do it to become the best and because this is something they are passionate about. I have always thought this and after reading The Bone Cage it just inspired me even more to continue doing what I love- running.

The Bone Cage- Plot

The Bone Cage is now one of my favourite books. Being an athlete myself, I love how I can see how other athletes think and what they go through, especially Sadie and Digger. (Being athletes at elite levels) The plot of the book is so passionate and the way Angie describes the lives of the athletes makes it even more compelling because of its realism. The plot begins with the situation the athletes are in and how good they are. Sadie wins the Olympic trial race and so does Digger in his wrestling match. They both go through strenuous routines but things a long the way set them back. Sadie’s Grandma dies and Digger’s best friend falls into a deep depression because he failed the last chance of getting to the Olympics. I felt like I knew them personally because the plot brought you into other aspects of their life that didn’t just consist of training. You got to literally see the emotions they felt and everything they thought in any situation they were in; whether during hard practices or relationships. The plot made the lives of the two main characters seem so real, and the passion behind everything made it such a great book. The theme should be passion. Everything the athletes do in their lives is full of love and affection.