The Bone People
Keri Hulme
Spiral
1984

The Bone People is a beautiful, complex, and astounding novel of healing, loss, and love. Keri Hulme utilises an unusual style: switching between viewpoints, first and third person, and employing a magnificent virtuosity with her plays on words. Although this occasionally makes for difficult reading, Hulme’s writing is powerful and its fluidity really allows the reader to connect with the character’s personalities and thought processes.

The characters themselves are complex and portrayed with skill. Kerewin, a 30-something recluse, has recently won the lottery and broken with her family irreparably. With her money, she has built a medieval tower that was meant to be a “glimmering retreat”, but has become her “prison”.  Read more