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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
Interesting read for all of the Maori culture tied into this book and how it plays out in New Zealand. The writing style is also very unique -- takes some time to get into. Slow reading.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
What a ride...powerful and painful. Our stand-in Keri Hulme has become one of my favorite literary characters-womanhood and love come in all forms. Let's get cozy in our little nest filled with treasures and magical objects and just lay about, drink, and smoke while the cold mist and sea hug in around us. A home life that is both dreamy, lonely, and at times completely devastating. This novel is controversial for a reason, and the handling of violence and child abuse is dicey and a bit naive...aspects of the story just didn't sit right with me.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wonderful to see an aroace (and nonbinary/gnc) main character in a Booker Prize winning book from the 80s! Honestly building a medieval stone tower by the sea to live and draw in with a well stocked booze cellar is goals tbh.
I really enjoyed spending time in the NZ setting with these characters and the ways they clashed and grew together. The book sets up several mysteries at the start that are fun to unravel and come back to at the end, although maybe some moral unease on my end at the enjoyment in unraveling one of those mysteries being 'what exactly was the traumatic abuse that happened to this child'.
The book is very long though and in the second half I was definitely flagging in places where it felt morr indulgent or repetitive. Its a little deus ex machina at the end as well, i wasn't totally convinced things could be fixed that easily, realistically. Although arguably it is about the hope of things being better, this time.
I really enjoyed spending time in the NZ setting with these characters and the ways they clashed and grew together. The book sets up several mysteries at the start that are fun to unravel and come back to at the end, although maybe some moral unease on my end at the enjoyment in unraveling one of those mysteries being '
The book is very long though and in the second half I was definitely flagging in places where it felt morr indulgent or repetitive. Its a little deus ex machina at the end as well, i wasn't totally convinced things could be fixed that easily, realistically. Although arguably it is about the hope of things being better, this time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Alcohol
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Acephobia/Arophobia, Colonisation
I got this out from the library on a whim, knowing nothing about it other than the fact that it is an award-winning book written by a Kiwi.
This was not an easy book. It's not a lighthearted book. I have no idea how I feel about it because there was so much spoken in metaphors that I didn't understand, and the things I did understand tore my heart to pieces.
I don't know what I think so there's no rating. All I know is I've read it.
This was not an easy book. It's not a lighthearted book. I have no idea how I feel about it because there was so much spoken in metaphors that I didn't understand, and the things I did understand tore my heart to pieces.
I don't know what I think so there's no rating. All I know is I've read it.
This book is different from any I've read in awhile. It concerns the relationships between a woman and a man and his foster-child. It's unusual in it's structure--written almost like a poem in spots, and Hulme doesn't really use hyphens, which she explains in the Foreward. Also, none of the characters are particularly endearing--the adults have such flaws that it makes them frustrating, but also relateable. The young boy, Simon (Clare) is mute and also physically abused by his foster-father. Simon's past is mysterious, and the boy himself is quite unusual--sometimes violent, or weeping, or stealing. The story also examines background and the concept of family. Like I said, very different, but also a great read.
This was a strange book but not a bad one. I liked the writing actually, and I know essentially nothing about Maori culture so this was interesting. I also liked how it tackled major issues and avoided the incessant problem of oversimplifying into cliches. The characters and the scenarios could have been described in the stereotypical way, but the book managed to demonstrate the complexities very well. It was very realistic in that way. Nothing is so simple, everything has multiple sides. We're made uncomfortable by what the author does, showing every side of the equation, but you can't deny that there's some truth in it. That being said, the book is very confusing as well. It drops a lot of plot lines, and the ending isn't particularly satisfying. At times it feels a little too caught up in itself, as if it's forgotten that other people are reading it. I know this won the Booker prize, and I can see why. It's wildly innovative and thoroughly unique and thought provoking. But maybe it's just not my kind of book.
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I think there is a lot more to this novel than meets the eye, and it surprises me that to date I havent read a single review that really reflects on this
I found this book very intriguing. I can't help but think that this book is some how autobiographical on the part of the author. One character in particular - Kerewin Holmes - doesn't seem terribly far removed from our author, Keri Hulme. I cannot help but wonder if Keri can relate to other two characters and their experiences as well and bearing in mind the subject matter, that really does give me pause for thought. Many decry this book for its subject matter of child abuse and violence... but I suspect that this is more autobiographical than many give credit.
Bearing in that in mind, this is a beautifully crafted story. It's main themes, I would say, are family and forgiveness. That might be out of place for some in today's world but in other ways Hulme was well ahead of her time with her asexual main character for one
I know many can't handle the veer from reality to the mystical at the end but it seems to me that Hulme was also touching on something personal here. Something about forgiveness. And if so the ending might not be everyone... but also makes total sense
Personally I didn't always appreciate the poetic writing but I understand this is Hulme's voice. And as such, I respect it.
The more I reflect, the more I think this book was well deserving of the Booker
I found this book very intriguing. I can't help but think that this book is some how autobiographical on the part of the author. One character in particular - Kerewin Holmes - doesn't seem terribly far removed from our author, Keri Hulme. I cannot help but wonder if Keri can relate to other two characters and their experiences as well and bearing in mind the subject matter, that really does give me pause for thought. Many decry this book for its subject matter of child abuse and violence... but I suspect that this is more autobiographical than many give credit.
Bearing in that in mind, this is a beautifully crafted story. It's main themes, I would say, are family and forgiveness. That might be out of place for some in today's world but in other ways Hulme was well ahead of her time with her asexual main character for one
I know many can't handle the veer from reality to the mystical at the end but it seems to me that Hulme was also touching on something personal here. Something about forgiveness. And if so the ending might not be everyone... but also makes total sense
Personally I didn't always appreciate the poetic writing but I understand this is Hulme's voice. And as such, I respect it.
The more I reflect, the more I think this book was well deserving of the Booker
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cancer, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt
Minor: Animal death, Pedophilia, Vomit
Not ready to rate yet... Or this month, maybe. Complex and I was ready to be done with it...
Review:9.13.13
What to say about this book...
I struggled to get through it. There were some beautiful, musical sections. The mythology was strong but totally foreign. The writing style was just.... painful at times and beautiful at others.
In the Guardian's Booker Club review (http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2009/nov/19/booker-club-bone-people), the reviewer sums it up nicely: "there follows a moving, intimate insight into the lives of these three struggling people. There are passages of great warmth and beauty. There are scenes of fine drunken comedy. There are also moments of brutal violence, made all the more shocking by the clear love Joe shows for his victim Simon – and the reciprocal affection Simon has for Joe, in spite (perhaps even partly because) of everything..."
Once I got in to the pacing of this book, and past its stream of thought style, i really enjoyed it. My favorite section, where the rhythm really felt right was when they were on holiday at the beach. Once they get back and spend the evening at the bar, and everything hits a frenzy of violence, i was lost again. Or more accurately, I was tired. I didn't see any good coming of anyone's life, and they mythology that Hulme was trying to build remained too flimsy for me to stay invested.
I'm glad i picked it up, and for Hulme's dedication to her unique style alone, I appreciate this as a Booker winner. Recommended for: mythology readers, New Zealand/Maori life, alcoholism, strange tone.
Review:9.13.13
What to say about this book...
I struggled to get through it. There were some beautiful, musical sections. The mythology was strong but totally foreign. The writing style was just.... painful at times and beautiful at others.
In the Guardian's Booker Club review (http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2009/nov/19/booker-club-bone-people), the reviewer sums it up nicely: "there follows a moving, intimate insight into the lives of these three struggling people. There are passages of great warmth and beauty. There are scenes of fine drunken comedy. There are also moments of brutal violence, made all the more shocking by the clear love Joe shows for his victim Simon – and the reciprocal affection Simon has for Joe, in spite (perhaps even partly because) of everything..."
Once I got in to the pacing of this book, and past its stream of thought style, i really enjoyed it. My favorite section, where the rhythm really felt right was when they were on holiday at the beach. Once they get back and spend the evening at the bar, and everything hits a frenzy of violence, i was lost again. Or more accurately, I was tired. I didn't see any good coming of anyone's life, and they mythology that Hulme was trying to build remained too flimsy for me to stay invested.
I'm glad i picked it up, and for Hulme's dedication to her unique style alone, I appreciate this as a Booker winner. Recommended for: mythology readers, New Zealand/Maori life, alcoholism, strange tone.
Very unusual syntactically—interesting to read. The author jumps around from first and third person and transitions from inner monologues and thoughts to exposition and narrative without any fanfare. I had trouble staying engaged with it the whole way through, though. Partly because I almost felt complicit in the child abuse taking place, and found it difficult to keep reading toward the conclusion, which argued that the abused child would be happiest and have his best shot back with his abuser. I did just generally lose interest as well.