Integrating both Maori myth and New Zealand reality, The Bone People became the most successful novel in New Zealand publishing history when it appeared in 1984. Set on the South Island beaches of New Zealand, a harsh environment, the novel chronicles the complicated relationships between three emotional outcasts of mixed European and Maori heritage. Kerewin Holmes is a painter and a loner, convinced that "to care for anything is to invite disaster." Her isolation is disrupted one day when a six-year-old mute boy, Simon, breaks into her house. The sole survivor of a mysterious shipwreck, Simon has been adopted by a widower Maori factory worker, Joe Gillayley, who is both tender and horribly brutal toward the boy. Through shifting points of view, the novel reveals each character's thoughts and feelings as they struggle with the desire to connect and the fear of attachment. Compared to the works of James Joyce in its use of indigenous language and portrayal of consciousness, The Bone People captures the soul of New Zealand. After twenty years, it continues to astonish and enrich readers around the world.
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"This is not just a novel: it's a boggle-the-mind experience."
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dead or Not?!?,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Bone People (Paperback)
I enjoyed this book. It made me laugh a lot. Our main character is a funny, irreverant gal with deep problems. This book is written in a "stream of consciousness" style, so any random thoughts that pop into her head are there for you to read. Though the plot is tragic, I found a lot of humour in the delivery, which was needed. Our book club could not decide if they were all dead or alive at the end of the book! We had differing opinions on this, all backed with well thought out arguments taken from the text itself. You decide for yourself.
2 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Keri Humle Bone people second hand book,
By Sofia "Sofia" (Europe) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Bone People (Paperback)
The book arrived earlier than expected which is good. Book is an old edition but in a fairly good state.As for the book itself, it is one of the best I've read, a very special literary style combined with an interesting insight of New Zealand and of the Maori culture.
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