One of my old favourites. I especially like the scene where the female hero of the story kicks the man's butt in a fight. ( )

The Bone People is like the West Coast: Harsh, isolated (lonely?), different, but ultimately indescribably beautiful.
As you may be able to tell, I love both. Simi, Kerewin, Joe: So real, so flawed, all so painfully beautiful. The writing is different, yes, but so right, as I decided a couple of words in and was already immersed. It hurts so much, but it's so good, too.

And when I finished I started again.

Can I fit eh somewhere in this review? ( )

Having lived in New Zealand for a short period of my life I have since been fascinated by the Maori, the indiginous population of New Zealand. They have an intriguing culture of Hakas, elaborate wood-carving, mythology, and tattooing in their beautiful Island continent.
With that in mind it was with excitement that I picked up this book from my University bookstore. What I found within was much more then I expected. While I was looking for a cultural expose, I found that besides that I was enjoying a fascinating tale that is human in nature: one of strength and weakness, the conflict and resolution between people, the different stages of age and development and the conflict between generations, family dynamics and economic strata. The characters are round, developed and fascinating and the landscape they live in within the story is crowded with symbolism and allegory. This isn't a book you read, this is a book you experience... at least that was what I found, and now that it is through I find I really miss living in Hulme's environment. ( )

I first read this book for a college lit class, and I've read it again a couple of time since. Hulme does such a great job with the characters that you really begin to identify with them and that's part of the reason why this story will stick with you. ( )

I've read this book a number of times, I return to it every few years. The first reading nearly destroyed me, because the content is so emotionally disturbing. Child abuse is never a good time, though the other presiding themes of isolation and the human capacity for love and forgiveness redeem it from the realm of senseless violence. At a certain point in the first reading I was so absorbed in the psyche of the characters that I found myself completely invested, and could not have walked away if I'd tried. It is the mark of a great book to be so wholly effected by it....good or bad, but never indifferent. I have to admit that I have never liked the ending, but the journey to that point is one you can't soon forget. This book will not be for everyone. ( )