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dan1066 's review for:
The Bone People
by Keri Hulme
Webs of events that grew together to become a net in life. Life was a thing that grew wild. She supposed there was an overall pattern, a design to it.
She'd never found one.
Keri Hulme's The Bone People was suggested to me after I reviewed [b:The Bluest Eye|11337|The Bluest Eye|Toni Morrison|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388208495l/11337._SX50_.jpg|1987778]. I had noted Morrison had arranged her characters and events in such a way that identifying "culprits" for the terrible things done was futile. A friend said, "That so? Read The Bone People, Chief."
He was correct: Hulme examines child abuse in a most unusual manner. There are no angels or devils in this novel, only characters making terrible, unbelievable decisions. Part III and IV are excruciating excursions into how a child can be beaten physically and overwhelmed spiritually and still yearn for the comfort of the perpetrators. Hulme explores confusing, uncomfortable territory. Hulme's characters, especially Kerewin, her female protagonist, do not conform to our expectations of who we believe they should be. The abused orphan, Simon, does not want to be "rescued" from his tormentors--he needs them. Within the context of this novel, this scenario makes more sense than they do written out in this review.
The novel struggles with pacing, though. The beginning is drawn out: Kerewin's initial interactions with Simon's visits are like a rejected Hallmark special script. Granted, this opening--where I had expectations where this novel was going--made the emotion of its core story, introduced later, more visceral. After a hundred pages of inane dialogue and pointless descriptions, I was ready to quit. I'm glad I remained, though.
Then Hulme does something even more amazing: For 200 pages I could not put the book down. The events and the way these characters never conform to our expectations are original. Then, at the height of events, the final 100 pages are mind-numbingly dull. The insertion of Maori phrases increases without a ready way to translate (there's a list in the back, but it's incomplete and poorly organized) coupled with the sudden appearance of wise people rolling through the New Zealand countryside healing and speaking cryptically, left me starved for a more relevant plot. At this point in the story, I was concerned about the boy Simon, but the novel had lit out for other territory. The final section detracts from the main story, and again I came close to just shutting the covers and calling it a day. Reading the final chapter, I wish that I had.
So a really poor opening and a really poor ending--and the middle part of the book merits all the praise accorded this novel. The middle section made this one of the best novels I have experienced in a long time. There's a chance I missed the important story element--perhaps the domestic dynamic was never the crux of this work and my expectations to have these threads addressed instead of woven into a very different sweater are the result of a faulty reading.
I highly recommend this novel, though. If you believe there is nothing new under the sun, you need to visit The Bone People.
She'd never found one.
Keri Hulme's The Bone People was suggested to me after I reviewed [b:The Bluest Eye|11337|The Bluest Eye|Toni Morrison|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388208495l/11337._SX50_.jpg|1987778]. I had noted Morrison had arranged her characters and events in such a way that identifying "culprits" for the terrible things done was futile. A friend said, "That so? Read The Bone People, Chief."
He was correct: Hulme examines child abuse in a most unusual manner. There are no angels or devils in this novel, only characters making terrible, unbelievable decisions.
The novel struggles with pacing, though. The beginning is drawn out: Kerewin's initial interactions with Simon's visits are like a rejected Hallmark special script. Granted, this opening--where I had expectations where this novel was going--made the emotion of its core story, introduced later, more visceral. After a hundred pages of inane dialogue and pointless descriptions, I was ready to quit. I'm glad I remained, though.
Then Hulme does something even more amazing: For 200 pages I could not put the book down. The events and the way these characters never conform to our expectations are original. Then, at the height of events, the final 100 pages are mind-numbingly dull. The insertion of Maori phrases increases without a ready way to translate (there's a list in the back, but it's incomplete and poorly organized) coupled with the sudden appearance of wise people rolling through the New Zealand countryside healing and speaking cryptically, left me starved for a more relevant plot. At this point in the story, I was concerned about the boy Simon, but the novel had lit out for other territory. The final section detracts from the main story, and again I came close to just shutting the covers and calling it a day. Reading the final chapter, I wish that I had.
So a really poor opening and a really poor ending--and the middle part of the book merits all the praise accorded this novel. The middle section made this one of the best novels I have experienced in a long time. There's a chance I missed the important story element--perhaps the domestic dynamic was never the crux of this work and my expectations to have these threads addressed instead of woven into a very different sweater are the result of a faulty reading.
I highly recommend this novel, though. If you believe there is nothing new under the sun, you need to visit The Bone People.