Keri Hulme (1947–2021)

The Bone People is a challenging book to read due to it's eclectic writing style. It breaks a lot of conventions and utilizes a variety of ways to let us see into the characters—though it's not always quite clear which character, or what is really happening, and certainly not why. The book probably needs re-reading a few times to truly be appreciated/analyzed.

At the core of it, however, is the strange relationship between a hermit painter who lives in her self-built tower, a very clever though mute child, and the child's foster father who can be very affectionate, but also very violent. The book has a few parts that are a bit tedious, but also quite a lot that are moving, shocking and suspenseful. It's certainly unlike anything I've ever read before.… (mais)

Kerewin and Joe are an unlikely couple. They come together because of a mysterious mute boy of four or five named Simon. Confessional: I was not sure I was supposed to like Kerewin. She likes to drink herself into a stupor and, as a self-exiled recluse, she has the time and inclination to take to the bottle often. She also spends her time making art, having won her independent wealth from a lottery ticket. She is estranged from her family, considers herself unlovable, and doesn't like companionship so when she comes across mute Simon, she cannot explain why she takes him in. Second confessional: I wasn't sure I was supposed to like Joe. Hard working and rugged, Joe has been a self-imposed foster father to Simon. When provoked he likes to beat the tar out of someone, but he gives just as many kisses as he does kicks. His passions are confused. Third confessional: I wasn't sure I was supposed to like Simon. He's a devilish imp. He has a way of stealing things and acting out when he doesn't get his way. He can be just as violent as Kerewin and Joe in action and emotion. Yet...Kerewin, Joe, and Simon somehow belong together and I found myself rooting for them.
The Bone People is like a slow moving train. At first you are not sure if you are on the right ride, but once it gets going it's a runaway success. I couldn't put it down after the first hundred pages. Maybe it took me that long to get used to Hulme's style?
You know a book is going to be good when it is endorsed by Alice Walker.… (mais)

Mijn 70-jarige buurvrouw kwam ineens met dit dikke, vergeelde boek aanzetten, omdat ze me erg vaak in de tuin zag lezen en ik "van andere culturen houd". "Iedereen las dit boek toen het uitkwam!" Dat een boek in de jaren '80 kennelijk 'hip' was, wil niet meteen zeggen dat het mij nu ook nog kan boeien. Maar, deels uit beleefdheid, gaf ik het boek in ieder geval een kans en vervolgens ben ik blijven lezen. Intrigerend boek met interessante wendingen over de vriendschap die ontstaat tussen Kerewin (een vrouw die zich heeft teruggetrokken in een zelfgebouwde toren aan de kust van Nieuw-Zeeland) een Maori-man en zijn pleegzoon (die niet kan praten). Soms worden er woorden uit het Maori gebruikt in het boek. Pas halverwege kwam ik er achter dat er een verklarende woordenlijst achterin het boek zat, maar die had ik nog niet gemist. Dit boek heeft me geïnspireerd om in de toekomst weer te beginnen in een dikkere pil, omdat je dan vaak nog meer een band opbouwt met de personages. Ik vergeet dan soms even dat hun vervolgverhaal nooit is geschreven, maar vraag me oprecht af "Hoe zou het nú met ze gaan?"… (mais)