Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

The Bone People by Keri Hulme

7 reviews

marioncromb's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Wonderful to see an aroace (and nonbinary/gnc) main character in a Booker Prize winning book from the 80s! Honestly building a medieval stone tower by the sea to live and draw in with a well stocked booze cellar is goals tbh.
I really enjoyed spending time in the NZ setting with these characters and the ways they clashed and grew together. The book sets up several mysteries at the start that are fun to unravel and come back to at the end, although maybe some moral unease on my end at the enjoyment in unraveling one of those mysteries being '

what exactly was the traumatic abuse that happened to this child'.

The book is very long though and in the second half I was definitely flagging in places where it felt morr indulgent or repetitive. Its a little deus ex machina at the end as well, i wasn't totally convinced things could be fixed that easily, realistically. Although arguably it is about the hope of things being better, this time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, and Grief

Minor: Cannibalism, Addiction, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Drug use, Excrement, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Colonisation, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, and Acephobia/Arophobia

memezaharamole's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Amazing - challenging is probably an apt description of the book, not due to the pace, but due to themes. I had been told it was dark, so had put off reading it in a poor headspace and picked it up while feeling a little better. Was still a tough read, but found it healing, looking at the depths of humanity, the quirks that come from trauma. And how relationships are so difficult but at the core of what makes us human.

As a New Zealander living overseas, the use of Te Reo Maori and references to the homeland really helped ground me in this book. One of the best I have ever read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Cancer, Medical content, Addiction, and Pedophilia

mscalls's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Racism

lilcoppertop's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Cannibalism, Car accident, Child death, Death of parent, Homophobia, Pedophilia, and Suicidal thoughts

monique_horn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I think that in order to really soak this book in it needs to be read slowly and in large chunks. Unfortunately I read it sporadically and in small sections. Because of this I can't say whether I really liked it or really disliked it, but I know that it was saying a lot and I wasn't listening properly. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Domestic abuse

nosie's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, and Ableism

Moderate: Cancer

Minor: Homophobia

tina94's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Violence

Moderate: Bullying and Cannibalism