The Bone People

By Keri Hulme

Add to Cart Please wait, the system is processing.

Average Rating: (See all 4 reviews) Format: Paperback, 300 pages, New edition Edition Published In: United Kingdom, 09 November 2001 Ships within 6-11 days Winner of the Booker Prize in 1985, "The Bone People" is the story of Kerewin, a despairing part-Maori artist who is convinced that her solitary life is the only way to face the world. Her cocoon is rudely blown away by the sudden arrival during a rainstorm of Simon, a mute six-year-old whose past seems to hold some terrible trauma. In his wake comes his foster-father Joe, a Maori factory worker with a nasty temper. The narrative unravels to reveal the truths that lie behind these three characters, and in so doing displays itself as a huge, ambitious work that tackles the clash between Maori and European characters in beautiful prose of a heartrending poignancy. 'In this novel, New Zealand's people, its heritage and landscape are conjured up with uncanny poetry and perceptiveness.' - "Sunday Times." Reviews 'In this novel, New Zealand's people, its heritage and landscape are conjured up with uncanny poetry and perceptiveness' Sunday Times About the Author Keri Hulme has Kai Tahu, Orkney Island and English ancestry and lives on the West Coast of New Zealand. She is a writer and painter and has published short stories in a wide variety of magazines and anthologies, and also a book of poetry. She is currently at work on her second novel, Bait. Publisher: Picador ISBN: 0330485415 EAN: 9780330485418 Dimensions: 19.0 x 130.0 x 3.0 centimeters

this was a truly amazing and compelling book. i dont want to give to much away for future readers, but understand when i say that this is a really fantastic must-read, and no home-library will be complete without it! a truly fantastic piece of writing, and the bone people truly stands out in my mind as one of the finest pieces of writing ever.

This is my favourite book. It is my comfort book, on those bad/sad/rainy/downright awful days when you want to be transported, this is the one. It is a true masterpiece, I pick it up for a flick through and have read it in its entirety about eight times, each time noticing something different. The characters are wonderfully developed, you feel like you know them and can share their pain, see the impending tragedy. Kerewin is tough, raw, alone. Living in a tower made from stone near a desolate beach, she endures a self imposed exile, drinking away the nights, fishing away the day and agonising over the loss of her gift of art. Simon enters one day, mute but able to communicate uncannily well through his shock of blond hair. His father Joe arrives to collect the boy and is, surprisingly, Maori. Kerewin is drawn slowly, reluctantly and at times resentfully into their lives, discovering the love and hate in their violent and intense relationship, the pain behind the man and the mystery of the boy. Through trials that threaten to rip the three apart, they emerge inextricably linked in ways you don't expect. A great book that is a beacon of hope that there is a plan greater than ourselves. It is also a poetic piece of writing, such as 'she guts green peppers, slices hapless onions to tears'...my fave line. Give it a chance, you won't be disappointed.

Too many people ditch this book before they've given it a chance; not all novels come to the reader - sometimes you have to abandon your own expectations and go to them. This is one of those books, and you will be duly rewarded for the effort. As Hulme herself says in the preface when she likens her book to kina roe - "persist, kina can become a favourite food".

This book tells a very real story, combining mysticism and the greater questions in life with the pedestrian (but no less tragic) tragedies of everyday New Zealand. Kerewin is a feisty, cantankerous character who prefers life on her own to dealing with the emotions of other people. Simon is a very strange little boy who likes Kerewin, but doesn't speak. This book is a kind, perceptive treatmemt of issues including Maoridom, domestic violence, and mysticism, and it is quintessentially New Zealand, despoite its international acclaim.