Black earth, white bones [Paperback]

Chris, Else (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Random House New Zealand (2007)
• ISBN-10: 186941862X
• ISBN-13: 978-1869418625
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Strange and underdeveloped, like baby marsupials, December 16, 2009

By 

T. Edmund Jenkin - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black earth, white bones (Paperback)

The book is written in an unusual tense, present continuous I believe. It gives the feeling that one is reading a perpetual joke. The narration is also a little oddball in general, describing characters in a colloquial fashion as if providing the reader with a tour of the story.


The main character has his faults; he's estranged from his ex-wife and more importantly his child, however the problem is we don't feel those problems as much as we should. We don't feel like the estrangement of his family has any bearing on the character or the story (and unless I misinterpreted the end they ought to be given more weight)


This isn't just the case for his immediate family, his other key relative Uncle Ken is not given enough weight SPOILER ALERT when uncle ken dies we don't really feel that it is a significant enough event yet it is part of the climax of the novel.


There is some excellent imagery within the novel, and there is some creepy goings on with the Pacific Island spirit. Also I always feel the need to represent Kiwiana!!! So read this book