Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by thejt33
The Bone People by Keri Hulme
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I wanted to like this book more, and indeed I did like it more all the way until the scene where Joe literally punches Simon to the brink of death . The last like 150 pages or so after that are a slog.
The best part of the book is Kerewin's character. I actually only read this book after reading an essay specifically about Kerewin as an asexual character, and, yeah, it's spelled out pretty explicitly, especially for a book from 1983. But that ends up not really being that central to the book, even though it's brought up on several occasions. The child abuse angle is the much bigger one, and, as other reviewers have pointed out, it's not really handled in an appropriate way, unfortunately. The author really seems to imply that you can abuse someone out of a sense of loving them too much, and it really starts to border on this misguided and disconcerting attempt to engender sympathy for Joe.
It's unfortunate that Kerewin, as such a great character, got stuck in this weird, meandering novel. A lot of squandered potential here, though the first 2/3rds-ish is still enjoyable and well worth reading.
The best part of the book is Kerewin's character. I actually only read this book after reading an essay specifically about Kerewin as an asexual character, and, yeah, it's spelled out pretty explicitly, especially for a book from 1983. But that ends up not really being that central to the book, even though it's brought up on several occasions. The child abuse angle is the much bigger one, and, as other reviewers have pointed out, it's not really handled in an appropriate way, unfortunately. The author really seems to imply that you can abuse someone out of a sense of loving them too much, and it really starts to border on this misguided and disconcerting attempt to engender sympathy for Joe.
It's unfortunate that Kerewin, as such a great character, got stuck in this weird, meandering novel. A lot of squandered potential here, though the first 2/3rds-ish is still enjoyable and well worth reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse