Keri Hulme (1947–2021)

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.… (mer)

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?"… (mer)

I have too many thoughts and feelings about this book to do it any justice. There is beauty and there is suffering. Sometimes I had to take breaks because it was so beautiful it hurt, sometimes I took breaks because there was simply too much hurting.

On a personal note, Kerewin reminded me very strongly of someone I used to know, someone who meant the world to me a lifetime ago. Everything that was art and knowledge and music and wordplay conjured this ghost out of my past. Bittersweet.

UPDATE: it has been years since I read this book, and the beauty has faded but the violence and suffering remain in my memory. Downgrading the star rating due to these disturbing feelings, which maybe isn't fair but is how I feel.… (mer)