Reviews with content warning for Pedophilia - The Bone People

Reviews tagging 'Pedophilia'

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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wytherwytch's review

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dark mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.75

I think there is a lot more to this novel than meets the eye, and it surprises me that to date I havent read a single review that really reflects on this

I found this book very intriguing. I can't help but think that this book is some how autobiographical on the part of the author. One character in particular - Kerewin Holmes - doesn't seem terribly far removed from our author, Keri Hulme. I cannot help but wonder if Keri can relate to other two characters and their experiences as well and bearing in mind the subject matter, that really does give me pause for thought. Many decry this book for its subject matter of child abuse and violence... but I suspect that this is more autobiographical than many give credit.

Bearing in that in mind, this is a beautifully crafted story. It's main themes, I would say, are family and forgiveness. That might be out of place for some in today's world but in other ways Hulme was well ahead of her time with her asexual main character for one

I know many can't handle the veer from reality to the mystical at the end but it seems to me that Hulme was also touching on something personal here. Something about forgiveness. And if so the ending might not be everyone... but also makes total sense

Personally I didn't always appreciate the poetic writing but I understand this is Hulme's voice. And as such, I respect it.

The more I reflect, the more I think this book was well deserving of the Booker

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nquinlan's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

I’m left not knowing how to feel. I enjoyed the ending but I’m not sure the payoff was worth the novel.

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memezaharamole's review against another edition

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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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jenna_smuszkiewicz's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

I decided to pick up this book because I heard the main character, Kerewin, was aroace and I wanted to read more of that rep. It is very clear that Kerewin is aroace which is good. This book was just not for me. I wanted to learn more about the child's past, go in the Kerewin's path and exactly what was going on with her, and dive into the mental health of the child's adoptive father, Joe. We go a little into all of those but not enough to make the picture clear to me.

After the event

(Joe beating up Simon so hard he goes into a coma)

, I don't understand what is going on with the characters there, especially Joe and Kerewin. And I don't know how we get from what's happened in this book to the ending.

I don't understand how they can have a happy ending without reconciling more of their past and mental health struggles and child abuse that was permitted to happen

Maybe this book is meant for other people. I get that. If you do decide to read, please read the content warnings. There is a lot in this book.

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exiles's review

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slow-paced

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

Content Warnings

impla77's review against another edition

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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

2.25

The good parts of this book: The prose is interesting and complicated, if a little pretentious. Even though most of the book doesn’t really have a plot, I didn’t find it boring

HOWEVER, the characters are just straight up.. horrible people, and in the last 100 pages, there is just fantastical deus ex machinas out of left field. A happy ending randomly after quite a harrowing start to the book.

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aliquid's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? It's complicated

hm. this book has been haunting me for the last couple days.

i dont think i can ever get over kerewin giving permission. on her piling in on simon. what was i supposed to glean from that? that someone who had been the lone person able to stand up to joe and get him to stop abusing his child? who had heard joes excuses of sometimes simon just pisses me off and still thought that he shouldnt be beating his child? that she gets pissed off at simon and all of a sudden she makes sure joe knows that he can beat simon as much as he wants?

i had been started to enjoy the book before then. a bit leerily but i was intrigued by this whole, yes joe is abusive. but with the help/intervention of kerewin he is accepting that he should not do it and that he and simon can heal. and that theres ways to discipline his child that are not abusive. and that they could be a family for real. and we cut to.... simon, nearly dead in the hospital. like i really dont understand what im supposed to gain from it. that joe really did take kerewin at her word of she can tell me when to beat simon instead of really going for okay, maybe abusing my child isnt the best way. that kerewin has one smashed guitar one missing knife and all of a sudden her moral fiber is snapped. come on man.

also i wish that kerewins family troubles werent resolved in like 2 pages in the epilogue. talked abt hinted abt the whole book and we just go ya its cool joe asked em to come over and everybody loves each other? but thats not really an issue for me i just wish kerewins problems/history was talked abt more since we learn so much abt joe and simon.

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