Reviews tagging 'Cannibalism'

The Bone People by Keri Hulme

5 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

yavin_iv's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Violence, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, and Cancer

Moderate: Ableism, Homophobia, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death of parent, and Child death

Minor: Pedophilia, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Cannibalism

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

mariebrunelm's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

I started writing a blurb for this book but I couldn't put my finger on the atmosphere. How to describe something that is so dark, so poetic but also so mundane? The Bone People is a sneaky book. It starts quite lyrical, lures you in with the author's very unique way with words, and slowly lets darkness seep in until you can't stop reading but you're increasingly disturbed by what you discover. This is a harrowing, harrowing book. It's mostly about the peculiar relation between the three main characters - reclusive artist Kerewin Holmes, the boy who meets her and disrupts her world, and the boy's father Joe who is capable of the most tender fatherly love and the most excruciating violence. These three humans gravitate towards each other, staying at arm's length or coming dangerously close to one another.

The author's Maori culture shines through, seeping into words and sentences to add a glint here, a depth there.

Rep: aro/ace MC.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Grief, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Cancer and Mental illness

Minor: Cannibalism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Vomit

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