Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

The Bone People by Keri Hulme

10 reviews

ohmage_resistance's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

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Yeah, this book is a lot to process, but not in a bad way, necessarily. It's more literary with a little bit of magical realism thrown in than typical fantasy. It's also not an easy read, in multiple ways.

My first warning to people is do not try this book unless you are willing to read graphic depictions of child abuse. It can be really rough. I think we also tend to think about child abusers as people who are pure evil, hate their kids, and deserve to be locked away forever, and while I'm sure a lot of them fit that description, that's very much not the depiction this book is going for. The abuser is a deeply human and tragic figure here. It's clear that

Joe loves Simon a lot (and Simon loves Joe back), even as Joe brutally abuses Simon

. And that's hard to swallow, and it's also hard to deal with watching other characters not intervene sooner.

Kerewin (the artist) is an interesting character. She's pretty clearly an author self insert in many ways and can also be a bit Mary Sue-ish/which fulfillment-y at times (she's rich, she's skilled at all sorts of random things), but this didn't bother me because the way she interacts with people and the world around her (which is where the conflict in the book comes from) felt like it was pretty realistic. She struggles with a tendency to self isolate in a lot of ways, but I did appreciate how when she does connect with people, she does it in her unique way. She's also aro ace (and so is the author) (although she uses the term "neuter" for it because the term aro ace isn't something the author knew about at the time, but "neuter" also seems to encompass her being childfree and gender nonconforming). I appreciated the depiction of being a-spec but not really being able to have an official word for it or a community around it, I think it was a good depiction for that experience.

This book is deeply rooted in New Zealand (including its Maori history). This goes beyond just the setting of the book to the style of the book. Maori words and phrases are used relatively frequently, and even English words are spelled in a nonstandard way to reflect accents (and also Kerewin's perspective). It's more stylistically challenging than that, Kerewin in particular has a large vocabulary and isn't afraid to use it, and the book will sometimes change pretty randomly from narration to showing the inner thoughts of Kerewin, Simon, or Joe, which can be a little tricky to keep track of. But overall, I appreciated the unique style, even if it was challenging at times.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Vomit, Medical trauma, Acephobia/Arophobia, Abandonment

Minor: Addiction, Child death, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual content, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Colonisation

Child abuse is the most significant one, and that is a major, major part of the book.

m_albrecht_w's review against another edition

4.5

dark mysterious sad medium-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

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Right up until the last 100 pages this would have been 5 stars for me. The ending however wasn't bad, it just didn't deliver the kind of end, the explanation I hoped for. Still this was an extraordinarily amazing read, not just a book but a work of art. Even though at times the cruelty was almost too much to bear. This is not an easy story to read, not by far.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Violence

Moderate: Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Medical trauma

Minor: Homophobia, Pedophilia

juliatsang's review against another edition

4.0

challenging emotional tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Medical trauma

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Abandonment

jess_polishedcomma's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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This was an incredibly difficult book to read. I found myself disliking Kerewin straight off the bat, since we spend a lot of time in her head reading about how much she dislikes children. Simon is very clearly a traumatized, terrified little boy who deserved (but probably never had) a loving and kind adult in his life. Joe is equally traumatized by the deaths of his wife and child, and is completely unable to care for Simon in the way that they both need. 

All three protagonists in this story have been deeply hurt in their pasts: fractured families, illness, injury, and

being unwillingly involved in drug smuggling

. This manifests differently for each of them: Kerewin is bitter and has lost touch with her art, Simon seeks attention by "misbehaving" and is unable to speak, and Joe is stuck in a pattern of self-loathing that externalizes in a pattern of physical abuse and apology. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Alcohol

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Trafficking, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent

context for death of parent:

Simon's parents (or parent figures) died before the book started in a boating accident

and trafficking

the boating accident was a drug trafficking run

. A character is imprisoned (it is referenced but not a main focus of the narrative). A named character dies on page. A named character prepares for their own death. A partner and child died off page in the past - it is referenced several times but not described in extreme detail.

bookbanshee's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful sad 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

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This book is extraordinary and heart shattering and beautiful, and also should be on more booklists of novels featuring queer First Nations characters. Talking about Kerewin to friends I feel like that clip of Willem Dafoe talking about his character in The Boondock Saints: “she’s an asexual hermit but she has a special connection with wordplay and playing guitar— there are many interesting things about her !!” Simon is a scrap of sunshine, painfully resilient as the receptacle for multiple adults’ accumulations of trauma, and ultimately is the healing catalyst needed if only those hard hearts will dare let it happen. Joe’s reckoning with the pain of his pain, the harm he has caused, is critically essential sitting-with for every would-be abolitionist. The deeptime of Māori storying ripples and tremors its way into the narrative in layered rupture, until finally, from the rubble, the rough stitches of repair might be made possible…

I loved every line of this book, the slipperiness of interiority and bird’s eye view, the visceral swings from exquisite joy to bonecrushing despair, the harsh and storied landscapes, the histories homed in a body. This one will stay with me a long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Death, Self harm, Terminal illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abandonment

Familial estrangement, ace-phobia/anti-ace sentiment, self loathing

marioncromb's review against another edition

4.25

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

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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.

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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

jaaay_reads's review against another edition

1.5

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I decided to pick up this book because I heard the main character, Kerewin, was aroace and I wanted to read more of that rep. It is very clear that Kerewin is aroace which is good. This book was just not for me. I wanted to learn more about the child's past, go in the Kerewin's path and exactly what was going on with her, and dive into the mental health of the child's adoptive father, Joe. We go a little into all of those but not enough to make the picture clear to me. 

After the event

(Joe beating up Simon so hard he goes into a coma)

, I don't understand what is going on with the characters there, especially Joe and Kerewin. And I don't know how we get from what's happened in this book to the ending.

I don't understand how they can have a happy ending without reconciling more of their past and mental health struggles and child abuse that was permitted to happen

Maybe this book is meant for other people. I get that. If you do decide to read, please read the content warnings. There is a lot in this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Alcohol

Moderate: Chronic illness, Abandonment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia

meghar's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Physical abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail

mscalls's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Colonisation

Moderate: Racism

yavin_iv's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt

Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent

Minor: Pedophilia, Cannibalism, Acephobia/Arophobia