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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
The writing style is hard to follow. Hulme waxes on way too long about seemingly innocuous and mundane things, as if trying to figure out the story as it’s written. The way the two adult protagonists act so blasé about beating a child is horrific. It is 545 pages of an incomplete story. The adults have not redeemed themselves to earn, what felt like, a happy ending. There are still many questions regarding the child’s past, and his current situation.
The mysticism elements that pop up through out the novel are an interesting addition. The Maori traditions really felt like they could have added more to the story instead of just sprinkled in.
The mysticism elements that pop up through out the novel are an interesting addition. The Maori traditions really felt like they could have added more to the story instead of just sprinkled in.
dark
emotional
reflective
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Maybe it's because I decided to tackle this 400+ page book in 2 days, but I just felt that there was way too much going on. And while the characters were well developed, they were not at all likable, and I found myself waiting for some redeeming quality to find in any one of them.
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A poetic, beautiful, painful and eye-opening book.
It's anything but your average novel, for the writing style goes beyond just telling a story. Keri Hulme dives right into the thought processes,feelings and motivations of each character. I'll admit, it's a hard book to get into since the writing is often fairly convoluted, but to me this makes the complexity of the characters all the more realistic. After all, even our own thoughts are often hard to discern.
By the end of this novel Kerewin, Simon and Joe are not fictitious literary figures...they were family.
It's anything but your average novel, for the writing style goes beyond just telling a story. Keri Hulme dives right into the thought processes,feelings and motivations of each character. I'll admit, it's a hard book to get into since the writing is often fairly convoluted, but to me this makes the complexity of the characters all the more realistic. After all, even our own thoughts are often hard to discern.
By the end of this novel Kerewin, Simon and Joe are not fictitious literary figures...they were family.
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
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
What a strange, wonderful gem of a book. Hard to read in many ways, because of interspersed Maori, constant wordplay, cultural references and the content, but worth the effort. I will most certainly reread this at some point.
Unique writing style and interesting characters, but content is too dark for me right now.