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Feb 25, 2008 · This comes from a song : "Love ! It's an iron hand in a woman's glove, It's a hawk disguised as a dove, it's a rag, a bone, a hank of hair, it's not fair, it's a nightmare that poets call a beautiful dream". Apparently, "a rag, a bone, a hank of hair" comes from a poem by Rudyard Kipling entitled "the vampire".
Sep 1, 1999 · 4.09. 193 ratings21 reviews. A gripping science-fiction novel set at the end of the 22nd century. The birthrate is falling following a nuclear power plant leak, and the government have begun manufacturing 'Reborns', new people from old.
- (193)
- Paperback
- Nicholas Fisk
To a rag and a bone and a hank of hair, (We called her the woman who did not care), But the fool he called her his lady fair—. (Even as you or I!) Oh, the years we waste and the tears we waste, And the work of our head and hand. Belong to the woman who did not know. (And now we know that she never could know)
- What It’S About
- What I Liked Best About A Rag, A Bone and A Hank of Hair
- Who Would Like A Rag, A Bone and A Hank of Hair
- In Summary
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At the end of the 22nd century, the birth rate is falling because of a nuclear accident. A petulant boy called Brin is asked to take part in a strange experiment involving Reborns, which are a kind of clone of human beings from the 1940s. Brin must step into a 1940s setting, to observe the Reborns in their own habitat. At first he’s appalled by ‘th...
It questions what’s real. Brin notices that the Reborns’ lives in the Second World War scenario seem more real, more spontaneous, than his own. We also learn about the artifice of 22nd-century life...It brings together the future and the past.We get to see a bit of Brin’s futuristic world, with moving pavements, anti-gravity sports and constant surveillance. But the most compelling element is t...Brin develops from an arrogant know-all into a thoughtful hero. Brin starts the story thinking he knows best about everything. Gradually, as his affection grows for the 1940s characters, he starts...The subject matter is dark, and there’s the threat of death throughout – so the youngest readers should avoid this. There’s a lot for sci-fi lovers to get their teeth into, especially the idea of cloning and the question of what’s really real. But large chunks of the story take place in the Second World War setting, so readers with an interest in h...
This is a deliciously thought-provoking sci-fi novel that cleverly mixes futuristic and historical settings. Nicholas Fisk had a real knack for telling weird, unsettling sci-fi tales, and this is a great example. It stuck in my mind for over 30 years – I challenge you to read it and forget it!
Prices for A Rag, a Bone and a Hank of Hair are a bit steep on Amazon. I found a cheap-ish copy on eBay, so you could try there.
from Capitol 45rpm (CL 15340) from March 1964.
- 3 min
- 364
- MrPasta
Jan 11, 2012 · MARCXML. In the twenty-third century, when children have become scarce, an unusually, bright boy is sent to live with an experimental family of reborn 1940 Londoners.
A rag, a bone and a hank of hair. by. Fisk, Nicholas. Publication date. 1999. Topics. Children's stories, Science fiction. Publisher. Oxford : Oxford University Press.
