Reviews - The Bone People: A Novel

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644 reviews for:

The Bone People: A Novel

Keri Hulme

3.95 AVERAGE

elbrayshaw's review against another edition

3.0

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

ria005's review against another edition

3.0

The characters in The Bone People are all outcasts. Kerewin Holmes is a painter that doesn't paint, who lives an isolated life in a tower. Simon is a mute boy who washed up on the shore of the West Coast of NZ following a shipwreck. He was found and adopted by Joe, who then lost his wife and biological child to the flu and proceeded to drink heavily and beat Simon. Kerewin has Joe and Simon enter her life when Simon breaks into her home. Chronicling of the complicated relationships that develop between the main cast is the most enjoyable part of this novel.

Some hefty issues are touched on, including displacement of Maori. At times Hulmes writing is disjointed and bordering on nonsense, but at other times her storytelling is to-the-point and vivid. I couldn't give this book higher than 3 stars because it is all over the show. Parts are great. Parts were a mix of wishy-washy magic and convenient happenings to drag the plot back on track. Tension and drama that built over the course of the novel towards what I assumed was going to be major plot points culminated in not much. It felt like all the elements of a potentially great novel were there, but some heavy editing was required to find them.

parenthesis's review against another edition

3.5

challenging emotional sad slow-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

scrapbookbug's review against another edition

1.0

well, as "read" as it is going to get by me. made it through first couple of chapters and gave up, something I rarely do.

emmajess's review against another edition

4.5

challenging dark emotional 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

stressed_bookbug's review against another edition

2.5

The writing was at times stunning, but then at times so over worked it became nonsense for the sake of sounding fancy. Also I don’t like how Kerewin and joes horrific actions were not challenged but rather excused and justified constantly, I hated the ending.