Powerful and visionary, Keri Hulme has written the great New Zealand novel of our times.
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'In this novel, New Zealand's people, its heritage and landscape are conjured up with uncanny poetry and perceptiveness' Sunday Times
Book Description
Winner of the Booker Prize in 1985, The Bone People is the story of Kerewin, a despairing part-Maori artist who is convinced that her solitary life is the only way to face the world. Her cocoon is rudely blown away by the sudden arrival during a rainstorm of Simon, a mute six-year-old whose past seems to hold some terrible trauma. In his wake comes his foster-father Joe, a Maori factory worker with a nasty temper. The narrative unravels to reveal the truths that lie behind these three characters, and in so doing displays itself as a huge, ambitious work that tackles the clash between Maori and European characters in beautiful prose of a heartrending poignancy. 'In this novel, New Zealand's people, its heritage and landscape are conjured up with uncanny poetry and perceptiveness' Sunday Times
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
39 of 42 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a story about three people, but it is moreover an account of a culture that has been splintered by colonialism. There were a lot of critical arguments circulating at the time of this novel's publication because there was a heavy debate over what the Maori culture should represent itself as and if this female author was doing it properly. The powerful thing about the novel is that while reading it you are hardly aware of the culture representation because at the heart of the story is the conflicts of the central characters. But likewise, when you stand back to look at the novel you see is that the influence of Maori culture is everywhere present in this novel. Instead of trying to interpret these characters as cultural symbols, perhaps they should be conceived as individuals coming to terms with their own identity like anyone else. Kerewin has all the marking of the stereotypical independent artist. She even lives in a tower by the sea, but she is unable to paint. You will find her overpowering ego annoying, but I think you are meant to. Her rapture with herself is one of the things she must learn to overcome throughout the novel. All of the three main characters have a form of artistic expression that is being suppressed through a division in their identity. They must each overcome a barrier before they can truly express themselves and they can only do this together. The interactions between the characters are a masterful portrayal of the way in which close people, especially family members, can avoid some of the most obvious conflicts in their lives when to anyone else they would be quite evident. Toward the end of the novel the characters sink into an almost mythical state of being where their only hope of survival is through a reinvention of their being.... Read more ›
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By BookWorm
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
A wonderfully strange, original, and very compelling novel. It's written in what I consider quite a poetic style - not something I usually enjoy, so for the first few pages I expected not to like it. But this is a book that gets under your skin. It's incredibly readable - unputdownable in the second half. The emotions are raw and powerful, the brutality heartbreaking. Despite it's mythical elements, it never seems whimsical or implausible - there's a firm grounding in reality.
The story centres on three very lonely, damaged people and their efforts to connect meaningfully with each other and the world - with mixed results. One is an embittered reclusive artist, another an orphaned and deeply disturbed mute child, and the third a widowed factory worker who feels that nothing in his life has worked out. I could believe in all of the characters and understand the emotions that drove them - even if their actions were sometimes terrible.
The use of Maori phrases littered throughout the story - another technique (in any language) that I'm not a fan of - actually works well here. I found myself picking up the more common words and most are used in a context that makes it easy to guess without spoiling the flow of the text. There's a translation section at the back, conveniently arranged in page order.
Overall this is a thought provoking book that manages to really say something about the nature of human relationships - love, hate, loneliness - and the need of people to be with other people. It's also very gripping. A story that is both profound and highly readable - not something you come across too often, and definitely one of the worthiest winners of the Booker Prize.
The story centres on three very lonely, damaged people and their efforts to connect meaningfully with each other and the world - with mixed results. One is an embittered reclusive artist, another an orphaned and deeply disturbed mute child, and the third a widowed factory worker who feels that nothing in his life has worked out. I could believe in all of the characters and understand the emotions that drove them - even if their actions were sometimes terrible.
The use of Maori phrases littered throughout the story - another technique (in any language) that I'm not a fan of - actually works well here. I found myself picking up the more common words and most are used in a context that makes it easy to guess without spoiling the flow of the text. There's a translation section at the back, conveniently arranged in page order.
Overall this is a thought provoking book that manages to really say something about the nature of human relationships - love, hate, loneliness - and the need of people to be with other people. It's also very gripping. A story that is both profound and highly readable - not something you come across too often, and definitely one of the worthiest winners of the Booker Prize.
12 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I first read this book at sixth form, and whilst the enforced reading I endured there seemed to breed a natural ill will against the titles we were given, the Bone People rose above this to become one of my favourite books of all time. testament to this is the fact that, having just re-read it for a tenth time, it is the first book I've felt compelled to review.
The characters capture you, the language seduces you - the whole thing just blows your mind. A worthy booker winner. Read it.
The characters capture you, the language seduces you - the whole thing just blows your mind. A worthy booker winner. Read it.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By CateSaint
Format:Paperback
I bought the book to read for our Book Club as someone had recommended it. I found it quite a hard book to get into with pages of descriptive sequences and poetry, that for me, got in the way of the actual story. The characters are all quite difficult individuals and it does make quite a painful read at times and challenges perceptions about what is right and wrong. Good points - interesting topic, challenging and certainly not one dimensional but on the negative side it is overly long and laden with description/dream sequences. On the whole I enjoyed it and we had great discussion at our group about it.
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By Wordsworth
Format:Paperback
As it's been a couple of years since I read this, and my memory for detail is not so great; I can offer a review of the aspects of this book that most struck me at the time and have stayed with me since.
Firstly, I remember it being quite unlike anything I had read before, and I have read nothing like it since. The narrative style of first-person observation interspersed with thought in English and Maori is difficult to describe (I am failing miserably here!) and took a while to get used to, but lends the book a unique feel. (By the way, there is a handy Maori - English translation guide at the end which I failed to spot until I had finished the book.)
Secondly, I remember that the characters are drawn with exceptional love and understanding. Without wanting to spoil the story, I found myself empathising with them and forgiving actions and attitudes that I would normally consider incomprehensible and unforgivable.
I think I shall have to read it again.
Firstly, I remember it being quite unlike anything I had read before, and I have read nothing like it since. The narrative style of first-person observation interspersed with thought in English and Maori is difficult to describe (I am failing miserably here!) and took a while to get used to, but lends the book a unique feel. (By the way, there is a handy Maori - English translation guide at the end which I failed to spot until I had finished the book.)
Secondly, I remember that the characters are drawn with exceptional love and understanding. Without wanting to spoil the story, I found myself empathising with them and forgiving actions and attitudes that I would normally consider incomprehensible and unforgivable.
I think I shall have to read it again.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A good read
Have read this years ago - my original copy fell apart. So pleased to have a new copy. Great reading.
Published 3 months ago by Orange box
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hard and Earthy
A hard, but rewarding read; Keri Hulme takes us into the company of three damaged people in a small New Zealand community. Read more
Published 7 months ago by M. J. Saxton
5.0 out of 5 stars
Overwhelmed
The Booker prize loved it and hated it, our book group loved it and hated it, but I loved it, and amongst my friends, they all remember it as being 'that book' that they never knew... Read more
Published 15 months ago by M. S. Harris
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Bone People
This book was recommended to me by my daughter as a "must read" before holidaying in New Zealand. It certainly proved to be the best book I have read in years. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Chris
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of my favourite books ever!
I love this book, and reread it every year. I always find something new in there each time I read it. Read more
Published on 25 April 2011 by Phonics Fan
2.0 out of 5 stars
The Bone People
This book was not for me. It is well written but so depressing. The story dragged on and on and became less and less positive with each step. Read more
Published on 14 July 2010 by Rozlyn
1.0 out of 5 stars
self indulgent twaddle
I first read this book soon after it won the Booker Prize and at the time I thought it was dull and uninteresting. I re-read it recently and my opinion has changed. Read more
Published on 4 Nov 2008 by Flavius
5.0 out of 5 stars
wonderful
Just amazing from the first page. A language and way of writing all of her own it grips you and wont let go
Published on 29 Dec 2007 by mandy
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