Except, perhaps, for the cannibalism, there is little of a socially sensitive nature in Giant Bones. The society of the father and son seems to feature a sexual division of labor, with the father complaining about his wife being away and his having to care for their son while also having to care for livestock, especially a mysterious jejebhai that is close to giving birth, probably to twins. The father often jumps out of his story to worry about the animal's latest noises. Otherwise, the father and son live on a farm that seems like many small family farms would be like in the medieval-like society of Giant Bones, and the fatherson relationship does not seem unusual, with a loving, somewhat impatient father and a little boy who worries about monsters under his bed.

The cannibalism of Giant Bones will likely give some readers pause, because...