The Rag and Bone Shop
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The Rag and Bone Shop (2001) is a book written by Robert Cormier. The book was published posthumously in 2001; Cormier died in 2000. It is important to note that the interragation sequence shown in this novel is not very far-fetched as some prisoners have died under the amount of pressure caused by interragations
[edit] Plot
The story surrounds a brutal murder of a young girl and the interrogation of Jason, the last boy to see her alive. The expert interrogator Trent is known for getting the confession and it is hinted to him by the higher ups that he can write his own ticket with this case. Trent will do anything to get ahead in his career. Jason is innocent. Who is the young girl's killer?
Jason, is eventually driven to his breaking point after Trent pushes him to confess to a crime he has not committed. Both Trent and Jason find out nearly immediately after the confession that the young girl's brother's alibi has been broken and a friend has turned him in. Jason is released and slowly grows insane.
Earlier in the book he recounts the encounter with a bully in school who molested a girl and sneakily tortured fellow students. The book ends off with Jason wondering why he could or could not commit such a crime as murder, obviously confused by Trent's techniques at confession extraction. He thinks of the boy and removes a butcher knife from the kitchen, knowing he would be at the local Y Center. He leaves the house, knife in hand.
[edit] Themes
Irony is used throughout the book, particularly in the ending. When Trent at last extracts a confession out of Jason, he then learns that the real killer has been found. Thus, his seeming salvation (a promotion) has been his downfall.
The novel ends with the frightening, ironic scene of Jason becoming a murderer even though he was not actually guilty of any murder before. The idea behind the story is the corruption of innocence because Jason was a normal, peaceful boy and he was only turned into a killer via Trent's ruthless interrogation.
