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Title: The Bone People ISBN: 9780140089226
· Paperback 450 pages
Genre: Fiction, Magical Realism, Literary Fiction, Contemporary, Novels, Literature, Historical, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, 20th Century, Book Club

The Bone People

Published October 7th 1986 by Penguin Books (first published 1984), Paperback 450 pages

The powerful, visionary, Booker Award–winning novel about the complicated relationships between three outcasts of mixed European and Maori heritage.

“This book is just amazingly, wondrously great.” —Alice Walker

In a tower on the New Zealand sea lives Kerewin Holmes: part Maori, part European, asexual and aromantic, an artist estranged from her art, a woman in exile from her family.

One night her solitude is disrupted by a visitor—a speechless, mercurial boy named Simon, who tries to steal from her and then repays her with his most precious possession.

As Kerewin succumbs to Simon’s feral charm, she also falls under the spell of his Maori foster father Joe, who rescued the boy from a shipwreck and now treats him with an unsettling mixture of tenderness and brutality.

Out of this unorthodox trinity Keri Hulme has created what is at once a mystery, a love story, and an ambitious exploration of the zone where indigenous and European New Zealand meet, clash, and sometimes merge.

Winner of both a Booker Prize and Pegasus Prize for Literature, The Bone People is a work of unfettered wordplay and mesmerizing emotional complexity.

User Reviews

Jude

Rating: really liked it
I have read this book 11 times. It's not because of my faulty memory (although I do have one), it is because this is my favorite fiction book of all time. The shape is unusual for a novel - it is not told in one voice or from one point of view. At times there is an omniscient narrator and at others it is told in the first person. It is the story of the journeys of three people back to the landscape of family. Sometimes free verse, sometimes standard prose, always poetic. Keri Hulme plays with the shape and feel of words themselves, giving the book a sensory quality not usually found just by reading. I do not want to give too much away because I feel that discovering this book is sort of like going on an amazing drive through beautiful country - just around the next bend there will be something wonderful, but each person will be struck by different things. For those who don't speak Maori ( myself included), she keeps a handy glossary at the end of the book for the phrases that are thrown in occasionally.


Hugh

Rating: really liked it
An original, personal and visceral novel, which for me is the kind of book that justifies the existence of the Booker Prize. The surface story is about the interactions between three difficult and damaged people, but there is a lot more to it than that - plenty of Maori culture, mythology and language (fortunately most of the latter is translated in the glossary) and a mixture of first and third person narrative voices including quite a lot of poetry. That may sound difficult, but the core story is quite gripping , though I must admit that I didn't try to follow everything. Hulme's introduction says that it started as a short story, but the finished novel is much more than that.

At the centre of the story is Kerewin Holmes, whose character must be at least slightly autobiographical. She is an artist of mixed European and Maori heritage, estranged from her family, who leads a self-sufficient and independent life in a tower she has built for herself on the New Zealand coast. Her life is disturbed when she finds a mute boy with an injured foot in her tower. The boy is Simon (or Haimona), who turns out to be a survivor of a shipwreck in which his parents are believed to have died. The third character is Joe, who found Simon and adopted him with his now dead wife. Both Joe and Kerewin are heavy drinkers. The story concerns their interactions, conflicts and culture clashes.

The story touches on some difficult themes, particularly Joe's relationship with Simon, which mixes extreme physical violence with a love that Simon needs more than anything else. Kerewin is asexual and dislikes physical contact, she is also fiercely independent. Part of the story involves the mystery of Simon's background - for example it is known that he already bore the scars of physical abuse before his adoption. I won't say too much more about the plot - I'm not sure I entirely believed the happy ending but it occupies such a small part of the book that it almost feels like an afterthought.

So a very interesting book, a little flawed but probably very memorable. I don't know why it took me so long to get round to reading it, but I would certainly recommend it.


Whitaker

Rating: really liked it
This novel is a shining jewel, one with a huge flaw in its centre.

diamond with a flaw

It is still, however, an impressive and beautiful work, and a hugely ambitious one: an attempt to create a story that marries the disparate identities—Maori and European—that make up present day New Zealand. There is a realism-based story of friendship, self-destruction, and child abuse, and there is a symbolism-filled story of healing, catharsis, and the necessary fusing of Maori and European civilisations. Each is well-told but they don’t fit together. This is a problem because they are the same story. Hulme’s writing sparkles and plays fantastic tricks of light and manages to—mostly—obscure that flaw, but can’t make it go away.

The three main characters are Joe, Kerewin, and Simon/Haimona. They are respectively Maori, Maori-European, and European. All are estranged from their families and cultures, and deeply damaged. In each other, they find comfort and solace, but also hurt and pain. As I noted, a key story element in the novel is child abuse. It’s horrific and at the same time is a necessary trigger for the eventual catharsis that occurs.

When asked whether Simon/Haimona is a Christ figure, Keri Hulme, in an interview, replied that she doesn’t like categorising him like that because it might cast an approbatory light on the child abuse that occurs. She went on to say that she wanted to write about child abuse because it is a problem in New Zealand that is not acknowledged.

I can understand this desire. We can’t, however, get away from the symbolic, religious elements of the story because they seem just too carefully thought out and constructed. We have a trinity; we have a child that is “sacrificed” to a greater end; we have a father figure called Joseph; we have a mother figure who is a virgin; we even have a powerful image of the three in one: It is impossible to not see religious symbolism in this. To cap it all, the strength of the narrative derives its power from that symbolism.

These elements are not forced. They carry weight in terms of who the characters are and in terms of their narrative arc. But the story of these individuals has a powerful current that runs counter to the symbolism of the narrative arc. It is difficult on the one hand to decry the abuse and at the same time to approve the catharsis that follows, but this is what the work demands.

That Hulme even manages to fuse this contradiction into a whole is testimony to the strength of her writing. But it is not enough. The tension is just too great, and so, we see in it a crack, a cleavage that is not healed. Was this intentional: a symbol on a meta-fictional level of the cleavage between Maori and European civilisation in New Zealand? If so, that would be too clever by half. I would prefer actually that Hulme wanted to tell this story, and tried and failed to resolve its inherent contradictory forces. Somehow the passion behind that creative impulse moves me more than the idea of a cold crafting of a deliberately flawed work.

[An interesting discussion the book may be read at The Guardian Books Blog]


Paul

Rating: really liked it
4.5 stars
This was twelve years in the writing and was rejected by many publishers. It defies easy description and is very much set in the interface between Maori and western culture. There is complexity in the structure and a dose of magic realism at the end. The character of Kerewin Holmes is a remarkable creation who jumps out of the page.
The novel revolves around three characters. Kerewin Holmes is a solitary woman living in a tower, a painter who does not paint and who is estranged from her family. Joe is the adoptive father of Simon, a boy washed up on the beach, who isn’t able to speak and who has considerable behavioural problems and no sense of personal property. Joe has relatively recently lost his wife and child and he is now bringing up Simon alone. In this he is struggling and he is physically abusive and violent towards Simon.
Hulme is a great storyteller and her descriptions are vivid;
''watching the blood sky swell and grow, dyeing the rainclouds ominously, making the far edge of the sea blistered and scarlet''
There is a musicality and rhythm to it all; Hulme switches perspectives between her characters and mixes poetry with prose, also mixing English with indigenous Maori language.
There are lots of themes. All of the main characters are isolated. A sense of home and family life is often seen as something to be strived for as Simon thinks;
“He had endured it all. Whatever they did to him, and however long it was going to take, he could endure it. Provided that at the end he could go home. ……if he can’t go home, he might as well not be. They might as well not be, because they only make sense together. We have to be together. If we are not, we are nothing. We are broken.”
Hulme has said that interwoven threads is one of her favourite images in the novel. Hulme has taken two elements of postcolonial literature, language and magic realism and uses them to good effect.
One issue that cannot be avoided is the violence by Joe towards Simon. When Hulme writes the violence she strips back the language and makes it very stark. Hulme herself is very clear about why she did this; to address an issue in New Zealand. Hulme has stated that violence towards children was a “pervasive social problem in New Zealand, among Maoris and Pakeha . . . and she had written the bone people in part to draw attention to it”
Hulme gives the reader nowhere to go with this; Joe by being violent loses his Maori language and sides with the Pakeha, the western colonizers. His attempt to destroy Simon seems linked to the destruction of Maori culture. His redemption is linked to his rediscovery of his roots and culture. I only found this partially convincing; male violence is male violence, wherever it is found.
I must admit that I did struggle with some aspects of the ending, but the writing and language is captivating.


Trudie

Rating: really liked it
* 1.5 *
( Warning : spoilers, trigger warnings and unpopular opinion time )

C.K Stead is a fairly divisive figure in NZ literature and has been roundly rebuffed for his criticisms of both The Bone People and The Luminaries
After reading The Bone People for myself I went searching for his much maligned letter to the London Review of Books (1985) entitled "Maoriness" which can be found here
https://www.lrb.co.uk/v07/n21/letters

In amongst some perhaps unfortunately worded statements, I finally found a set of arguments about Hulme's novel that happen to dovetail almost exactly with my own reading of it. The letter is in no way entirely disparaging of the book and neither am I but this final paragraph stood out :-

I’m glad The Bone People has been written and published. But when I stand back from it and reflect there is, in addition to the sense of its power, a bitter aftertaste, something black and negative deeply ingrained in its imaginative fabric, which no amount of revision or editing could have eliminated. I suspect it has its location in the central subject-matter, and that this is something it shares with Benjamin Britten’s opera Peter Grimes, a work which also presents extreme violence against a child, yet demands sympathy and understanding for the man who commits it. In principle, such charity is admirable. In fact, the line between charity and imaginative complicity is very fine indeed.

A bitter after taste is precisely what I am left with here despite the books obvious power and lingering hold over me. Some of this writing is the best I have encountered in NZ literature, the sense of place, particularly for the South Island is unparalleled and Hulme takes a delight in word-play and poetry that initially made me think this was going to be a 5-star read. Also as Stead states :-

Simon is a major fictional character, the most complete, convincing and fascinating of the three, and all the more remarkable in that his personality has to be conveyed to us without spoken language

I would go further and say that Kerewin is just as fascinating. A singular personality the more so because she is so obviously a fantastical version of Keri Hulme herself. This makes things all the more problematic for me because despite the love she demonstrated for this Goblin, sun child as she calls Simon/Himi she fails him over and over again.

Lets take a look at how dated and tone deaf some of the this central subject matter is. I will let Joe and Kerewin do the talking here :
(view spoiler)
( The rating given reflects my distaste for the handling of the subject matter not as a reflection for the quality of the writing which is mostly exceptional and of course this is all a personal opinion and I do not hold any grudge towards readers who found this an entirely different and more worthy experience )


Adam

Rating: really liked it
The Bone People had been on my to-read shelf for almost a year, so I decided that it was a good first read of 2013. I wanted to like it; indeed, for the first hundred pages or so, I did. The language is unconventional but richly textured and evocative (and exotic to this American boy). This was enough that I didn't notice some major flaws until I was too far in to quit reading. Once I noticed them, however, they were impossible to un-notice.

My first problem with the book is that one slowly realizes that Kerewin is a bothersome character. Since she is arguably the most important character, this is an issue. If you've familiar with the mysterious, sometimes scary realm of fan fiction, you'll know the term Mary Sue. Kerewin has got the Mary Sues something bad. The similarity of her name to the author's is only the first clue. She's also fabulously wealthy, talented in art, music, and language, a survivalist, and oh--she can kill a man with her bare hands. In conversation and in monologue, she sounds exactly like someone with all of these traits would sound: that is, she sounds ridiculous. About three quarters of the way though the book, I was wincing every time she opened her mouth.

(view spoiler)

I'm not exactly sorry that I read The Bone People, but I don't think I recommend it.


Hanneke

Rating: really liked it
So, okay, Ms. Hulme, I already felt rather suffocated by your novel throughout the book, but you really tried to strangle me with your final chapters. I was going to rate the novel 3 stars. However, after those last chapters, I will now grant it a mere one star plus another one for the rather picturesque writing throughout the book.

Let me explain. I rather liked the sing-song quality of the narrative and in particular the inserted little snippets of poetry, contemplations and lamentations. What I truly hated were the two main characters who are just utterly unsympathetic. Hulme’s apparent alter ego, Kerewin, has serious character flaws and feels so elevated from mere humans that she does not want to commit herself in any way, even if a six year old boy, whom she claims to love, is ferociously beaten on several occasions, the last abuse so severe that the boy is within inches of death. She is convinced that the father, her new friend Joe, cares about his adopted son and that should be a sufficient reason to excuse his behaviour and for herself no reason to act in a decisive way. Subsequently, at the end of the book, Hulme seems to insist that her readers accept her idea of the redemption and forgiveness of Joe. It feels to me that she forgets that her readers might feel pretty disgusted by both Kerewin’s and Joe’s earlier pathological behaviour and are not in the mood to forget what transpired before. To help her doubting readers, she introduces sudden magical occurences which result in the elevation of Joe to a moral, even saintly, human being. Sorry, what drivel! Needless to say, I was relieved to finish the book.


Aubrey

Rating: really liked it
[I don't see any justification for his violence. Is this how males get? Is this how their logic works? It has no place in society, whatever their excuses and reasoning and past horrific experiences may be. What he did to Sim


Isis

Rating: really liked it
I out myself as a philistine, I guess, with my dislike of this painfully literary book, which I read only because I was in New Zealand and thought I ought to read a famous NZ author. Once I got past the aggressively defensive introduction (Idiosyncratic Author is idiosyncratic! I can dizzily swap first-person POV and use my own grammar and make up my own words because I am Artistic!) and the Mary-Sueish tinge of the central character being named after the author (*headdesk*), I found this book...confusing. Parts of it were interesting, parts dull, and hey, surprise woo-woo at the end (which I kind of wish had been introduced sooner, because it was cool, and actually, you know, went some where). I didn't particularly like any of the characters, but I suppose that was part of the point.


Sara (taking a break)

Rating: really liked it
Art and family by blood; home and family by love…regaining any one was worth this fiery journey to the heart of the sun.


Keri Hulme’s The Bone People is a complex story of love, isolation, and a search for identity, set in her native New Zealand. Much of the complexity of this novel rises from its treatment of opposites and how they interact and weave together in a life. How, for example, do love and cruelty exist within the same person and toward the same object? How does a person sort the good and bad and decide whether the one can ever offset the other? How does an individual balance his need for solitude with his need for companionship and understanding?

The three main characters are a half-Maori woman, Kerewin Holmes, who becomes involved in the lives of Joe, a Maori man, and his foster son, Simon, a white child. Kerewin is separated from her family and living an isolated life by choice, but in despair for the family she has lost.

A family can be the bane of one's existence. A family can also be most of the meaning of one's existence. I don't know whether my family is bane or meaning, but they have surely gone away and left a large hole in my heart.

Joe is grieving the loss of his wife and natural child to flu, and he is struggling with the difficulties that come with being a single parent to his foster son, who has disabilities and sometimes unbridled rage. Simon is unable to speak, an affliction that stems from his own loss of parents, and which is apparently psychosomatic rather than physical, but he has an intelligence that is sharp and so he rebels against not being understood or sometimes even acknowledged. Unlikely as it seems, the three form a bond that stems from some ability they have to understand one another, an ability that no doubt stems from their lonely, unfathomable similarities.

There is, at the heart of this novel, a dichotomy that I had difficulty dealing with, and that is the idea that a person could love deeply someone and yet hurt them repeatedly and severely. In order for the book to work, I believe this is a contradiction that you must accept. And, you must accept this as a path to self-discovery and self-recognition that can bring redemption. While I doubt I could ever believe this in the real world I live in, somehow I came to within the confines of this story.

Another aspect of the book that is very important, and which I admit to understanding only on a level that feels wholly inadequate, is the Maori culture and the search for identity within the peoples of New Zealand. Both Joe and Kerewin are a part of the Maori culture, and both are trying to live within the Pakeha (European) culture that has displaced it. The strength for each of them comes from the connection to their Maori roots and a large part of their hope for salvation lies in being able to reconnect to that lost part of themselves. I believe it is no accident that the pure Maori, the mixed Maori/Pakeha, and the pure Pakeha are represented in the three main characters, and that part of the struggle for them is to learn how to live together in harmony.

This is not an easy book. It is well-written, but written in an unusual style that incorporates various voices and the use of both prose, poetry and a vague stream of consciousness. It suffers a few times from being bogged down and repetitive, and would have benefited from being cut down in length by a good editor. However, it is a prodigious enterprise that leaves a stunning impression on the reader. Hats off to Keri Hulme. Definitely worth the reading!


Lee

Rating: really liked it
When I recommended this book to my book club several years ago, the only other woman who had read it glared at me and said "if we pick this book, I am going to be REALLY mad at you" and so I withdrew the suggestion. This winner of the Man Booker prize is painful to read. It forces the reader to consider the complexity of human nature and behavior -- how thin the line can be between love and abuse. It is set in New Zealand and is about three wounded and likeable characters - a man, a woman, and a child.


Albert

Rating: really liked it
The novel revolves around three characters and their relationships with one another; each of the three feels separated from their community for different reasons. Kerewin Holmes is a painter and a loner who values her solitude. She comes from a wealthy family from whom she is estranged, but she lacks for nothing material that she wants. She lives in a tower, alone, she does not seek out interaction with others, she does not like to be touched and like the author, considers herself asexual.

Joe Gillaylay, is a factory worker. He and his wife had adopted Simon, the lone survivor of a shipwreck. Joe then lost his wife and baby son to illness, and he was left alone to raise Simon. Simon is mute but has developed a short-hand method of speaking with his hands; he can also write very well at a young age. Simon is unable or unwilling to share anything he knows about his life prior to the shipwreck.

In each other, Kerewin, Joe and Simon find something they need, something they are missing, a blend of love, friendship and understanding. There is an intense love between Joe and Simon. Beware, though, at the core of the story there is extremely violent child abuse.

I know some readers will not want to read a story that deals so explicitly with child abuse. I think the author attempts to address the issue honestly. I have found novels that deal with ugly, distressing behavior to ultimately be some of my favorites (Lolita, The Collector). In addition to the subject matter, this novel was challenging to read. It incorporates a lot of indigenous, Maori, language but there is a translation reference at the back of the book to help you. More challenging is a mixture of 1st and 3rd person narratives, with the 1st person moving between the three main characters. There is also quite a bit of poetry interspersed throughout the story. For me it was helpful to not expect myself to understand everything, but instead to focus on enjoying the story, the characters and the setting. I did not feel the ending fit the story very well.

For anyone willing to take on the described challenges, I highly recommend The Bone People. The Bone People won The Booker Award in 1985; Keri Hulme was the first New Zealander to win this award. The Bone People is the only novel that Hulme has completed to date.


Meredith

Rating: really liked it
I cannot put my finger on why I love this book. I didn't really think it all that special when I read it, but it has stayed in my mind so vividly when many a lesser book has dissipated from my memory. I think the authors descriptions are understated while being vivid. I read the book years ago and I can still remember clearly descriptions of meals cooked, of the matter-of-fact efficiency the main character displayed in her solitude. All of the characters are overtly flawed, and the author doesn't just skip over that to tell a "happily ever after" story about friendship. Maybe I loved this book because it is not a fairytale. The characters you grow to love and empathize with are also the ones that drink to much and beat their children, or the ones who steal from you after you've generously given them money. These are not the heroes we put next to flags or on films, but they still come across the page as lovable. A very provacative novel.


Vonia

Rating: really liked it
The Bone People (1983)
Author: Keri Hulme
Read: 12/4/20
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

The Good:
Taking place on the South Island in New Zealand, scattered through the text is an abundance of information for readers on the Maori culture and lifestyle, as well as life in a fishing village.

Highly descriptive narrative invites readers on a dark but evocative adventure to Oceania. Hulme's writing is raw and deeply sensual, often with a visceral quality.

Frequent use of the Maori language (although not too much that it inhibits understanding) further adds to the immersive, transporting power of the novel, making readers feel like they are witnessing authentic interactions.

Psychologically complex in its themes and ideas; astute examination of such "phenomena" as violence as a form of love, the nuanced repercussions of trauma, psychological struggles pertaining to belonging, identity, and loneliness.

Controversial topics are opened for much thought long after three last pages, particularly on morality. How much is too much when it comes to discipline. Questions of culpability- say, as occurred in this (thankfully) fictional story, you were consulted beforehand and "let" a father abuse a child? Does whatever happened thereafter fall under your responsibility? Are words only words?

One of the few books- particularly fiction books- that
Has a touch of magical realism (for fans of the genre) as well as references to spirituality and the occult, such as medicinal potions and tarot reading.

The Bad:
Experimental techniques, as noted below, can be discombobulating and make the story difficult to fully understand.

A good portion of the poetry is beautifully written. However, there is also much that may have been intended as "art", but honestly reads as incomprehensible, pretentious gibberish.

Religious connection here comes off as forced and intrusive; doesn't even make it's argument clear. Father (figure) named Joseph, Trinity of three main characters, sacrifices, renewal, religious awakenings, virgin mother- a mother figure who is a virgin. The entire final section which mentions Christianity frequently, yet still makes little to no sense except broad allusions to ancestors, Maori culture, various religions.

There is undoubtedly much lost in translation, but too much seems deliberately alienating- not only drenched in Maori vernacular, but also occult and even witchcraft, venturing into such beliefs as cannibalism. While this may be fascinating, more fascinating would be fascinating material conveyed in a comprehendible manner.

An uncomfortable read for most, with graphic scenes, violence, and some darker forays into the human psyche.

Takes a questionable moral stance on a few issues, primarily alcoholism (in general and by a young boy), smoking (mostly cigars, also by a kid), and child abuse. At best it condones, at worst it endorses. Here is the worst of it: "... it all shows you cared deeply. In a negative way, so does the fact that you beat him. At least, you worried enough about what you considered was his wrongdoing to try and correct it." (page 235) So causing near lethal pain and suffering is true love?

The "Experimental":
The text has a disconnected quality, namely due to the intermittent Maori phrases. Although most can be guessed at through the context, it can feel jarring. Hulme includes a glossary at the back of the book, selecting some words and phrases either at random or those she deemed most important and listed by page number. But this resulted in more intrusion than aid. Some suggestions that would have been far more effective: 1) have a general glossary in alphabetical order, 2) to have actually defined every word written in Maori rather than selectively 3) used reference symbols like in footnotes to prevent unproductive flipping to the back. As it is written, readers will unfortunately likely find themselves flipping to the back frequently, only to be frustrated most times upon discovery that Hulme did not deem a word or phrase worthy of the glossary. It seems like she may have purposely been selective with her glossary entries, in order to alienate the reader a little bit not not too much.

The novel is told from three character perspectives. Frequently, Hulme will segue into internal monologue, clearly marked by an indented paragraph. What is not so clear is exactly whose thoughts they are and when she deems it necessary to indent, as other internal thoughts are written with regular formatting. With characters also referring to themselves in third person, it is often difficult to discern whose point of view is indeed being taken.

Dreams play a significant part, sometimes interspersed between narrative of what is taking place in reality. Can be confusing to tell which is which.
Several instances where Hulme writes poetry or something that certainly wouldn't quite be considered prose. Fragmentary, vague words and passages.

Mysticism, folklore, myths and legends plays as a backdrop throughout the narrative, and takes center stage in the third and final part of the novel- in which a spiritual trek and awakening takes place involving Maori ancestors and gods. By far the most gibberish- sounding portion of the book.

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David

Rating: really liked it
What a mess of a novel. The initial promise of a 4-star experience was systematically dismantled by the author herself. Interesting setting and carefully crafted imagery are ultimately all for naught. Hulme launches her literary clay pigeons and then recklessly shoots each one out of the sky until all that's left are shards nobody cares about.

What follows is a rant so feel free to stop reading here if that kind of review upsets you.

Broken, wounded people can, and do, perpetrate terrible harm upon themselves and others. It is mighty unpleasant to read about such things but I do so (now and then) to expand my sensibilites; I won't walk away from a book just because it's emotionally challenging. But we all have our limits and this one tested mine repeatedly. Take such a story, stretch it out for 550 pages, romanticize the suffering, and consistently make excuses for the hideous abuse on display, and you have definitely lost me. Add to all this the many uneducated, simple characters using words like "exemplar" and "fanatacism" - and Dr. Sinclair Fayden, World's Least Convincing Pediatrician, who smokes cigars with his seven-year-old patients and colludes with victims of Child Abuse in order to "sneak" them back into the care of their abusers - and it's easy to understand why Hulme "had been rejected by some of the country's major publishers".

There are aspects of "The Bone People" that made it interesting and not a complete waste of time. This is a rare international award-winning novel from New Zealand, and that stunning landscape and environment are strongly represented. Maori language and culture permeate throughout. The celebration of coastal living really appealed to me, having been raised by a rugged shore myself. It is always compelling to have outsiders as protagonists and everyone here is beyond mainstream society. And there is a strong presence of ancient spritual voices. So much potential!

In terms of characterization, I was most fascinated by Kerewin. There is a lot going on there. Her abundant flaws - including some very unattractive traits - are believable and well-delineated. Given that she's clearly autobiographical might explain her particular strength. In any event, she's well done. Simon followed next as often interesting but he is also a bit of an avatar and not fully developed. Joe, however, was quite poor in many respects and the least persuasive protagonist. In fact almost every minor character (many of whom appear indirectly and for only a few pages) seemed more credible.

Hulme's attempts at giving Joe depth did not work for me. The information she provides the reader - by way of explaining the motivations behind his erratic, destructive behaviors - is weak and unconvincing. We are asked to believe that he is intelligent, perceptive, charming, and willing to do just about anything in order to bring love back into his life. Why, then, the Jekyll and Hyde transformations which are brought on by the smallest of insults? Why the careful depictions of shame and remorse followed by his casual returns to obscene violence against a vulnerable child? Why his inability to understand Simon when their behaviors are so similar? When Joe takes center stage after page 400, it became much harder to stay interested in the proceedings. I was ultimately undone by this supposed epiphany following his release from prison:

"I know I exacerbated his reckless wounding of himself, but now I am not allowed to give him even shelter..."

This is the extent of his understanding following a criminal conviction for extreme, chronic child abuse? Aue. He aha tou mate? E whakama ana au ki a koe! I realize that we all have contradictory natures, but this is the very antithesis of intelligent, perceptive, and charming. It was all a bridge too far and a road too long.

"The Bone People" is obviously not New Zealand's best effort in fiction and I look forward to better experiences ahead.

1.5 stars rounded up