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The Bone People
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The Bone People Paperback - 1986

by Keri Hulme

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This seller has earned a 4.36 of 5 Stars rating from internet customers.
4.36 / 5 (25 total reviews)

Set in the harsh environment of the South Island beaches of New Zealand, this masterful story brings together three singular people in a trinity that reflects their country's varied heritage. Winner of the 1985 Booker-McConnell prize for fiction.

Summary

In a tower on the New Zealand sea lives Kerewin Holmes, part Maori, part European, an artist estranged from her art, a woman in exile from her family. One night her solitude is disrupted by a visitor—a speechless, mercurial boy named Simon, who tries to steal from her and then repays her with his most precious possession. As Kerewin succumbs to Simon's feral charm, she also falls under the spell of his Maori foster father Joe, who rescued the boy from a shipwreck and now treats him with an unsettling mixture of tenderness and brutality. Out of this unorthodox trinity Keri Hulme has created what is at once a mystery, a love story, and an ambitious exploration of the zone where Maori and European New Zealand meet, clash, and sometimes merge.

Winner of both a Booker Prize and Pegasus Prize for Literature, The Bone People is a work of unfettered wordplay and mesmerizing emotional complexity.

Reader reviews for The Bone People

Review summary

This seller has earned a 4.36 of 5 Stars rating from internet customers.
4.36 / 5 (25 total reviews)

Readers describe The Bone People as a demanding, unconventional novel that pairs lyrical beauty with harrowing depictions of violence. Many praise its psychological depth, cultural texture, and the nuanced portrayal of its central trio, while others are unsettled by the sympathetic treatment of an abusive father and the murky ethics that follow. The prose and structure can be opaque and sometimes tedious, prompting calls for rereading, yet the book’s emotional force and spiritual resonance leave a lasting impression, even among mixed reactions.

Readers say this book is:
intensechallengingemotionally rawmorally complexinnovative stylemovingunsettlingculturally richunevenmemorable

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From the publisher

The powerful, visionary, Booker Award-winning novel about the complicated relationships between three outcasts of mixed European and Maori heritage

"This book is just amazingly, wondrously great." --Alice Walker

In a tower on the New Zealand sea lives Kerewin Holmes: part Maori, part European, asexual and aromantic, an artist estranged from her art, a woman in exile from her family. One night her solitude is disrupted by a visitor--a speechless, mercurial boy named Simon, who tries to steal from her and then repays her with his most precious possession. As Kerewin succumbs to Simon's feral charm, she also falls under the spell of his Maori foster father Joe, who rescued the boy from a shipwreck and now treats him with an unsettling mixture of tenderness and brutality. Out of this unorthodox trinity Keri Hulme has created what is at once a mystery, a love story, and an ambitious exploration of the zone where indigenous and European New Zealand meet, clash, and sometimes merge.

Winner of both a Booker Prize and Pegasus Prize for Literature, The Bone People is a work of unfettered wordplay and mesmerizing emotional complexity.

Details

  • Title The Bone People
  • Author Keri Hulme
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition [ Edition: Repri
  • Pages 464
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Penguin Books, New York, New York, U.S.A.
  • Publication date 1986-10-07
  • Features Table of Contents
  • ISBN 9780140089226 / 0140089225
  • Weight 0.8 lbs (0.36 kg)
  • Dimensions 7.6 x 5 x 1.1 in (19.30 x 12.70 x 2.79 cm)
  • Age range 18 to UP years
  • Grade levels 13 - UP
  • Category Fiction - General
  • Library of Congress subjects Racially mixed people, Boys
  • Library of Congress Catalogue Number 86005026
  • Dewey Decimal Code FIC

Media reviews

"This book is just amazingly, wondrously great."
—Alice Walker

"An original, overwhelming, near-great work of literature"
—The Washinton Post Book World

"Unforgettably rich and pungent"
—The New York Times Book Review

Citations

  • Publishers Weekly, 01/01/1986, Page 0

About the author

Keri Hulme (1947-2021): The Maori novelist, poet, and short story writer who became the first New Zealander to win the Booker Prize for this luminous debut novel. She grew up in Christchurch and Moeraki, New Zealand. She spent much of her time smoking a pipe or cigarillos, playing the guitar, painting, fishing, eating, drinking and cooking. She began two additional novels, each running to hundreds of pages, but they were never finished.
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The Bone People: Booker Prize Winner (A Novel)
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The Bone People: Booker Prize Winner (A Novel)

by Hulme, Keri

  • Used
  • Good
  • Paperback
Condition
Good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780140089226 / 0140089225
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Evergreen Goodwill
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Penguin Books, 10/7/1986 12:00:01 A. paperback. Good. 1.2598 in x 7.6772 in x 5.0787 in.
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The Bone People: A Novel
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The Bone People: A Novel

by Hulme, Keri

  • Used
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  • Paperback
Condition
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Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780140089226 / 0140089225
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Penguin Books, 1986-10-07. Paperback. Good. 1.0000 in x 7.7000 in x 5.1000 in. General wear from age and use. Some heavier edge wear.
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The Bone People: A Novel
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The Bone People: A Novel

by Hulme, Keri

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780140089226 / 0140089225
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Penguin Books. Used - Good. Good condition. Owner's name on endpage.
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The Bone People: Booker Prize Winner (A Novel)
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The Bone People: Booker Prize Winner (A Novel)

by Hulme, Keri

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
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Penguin Books. Acceptable. The item might be beaten up but readable. May contain markings or highlighting, as well as stains, bent corners, or any other major defect, but the text is not obscured in any way.
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The Bone People: Booker Prize Winner (A Novel)
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The Bone People: Booker Prize Winner (A Novel)

by Hulme, Keri

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
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Penguin Books. Very Good. It's a well-cared-for item that has seen limited use. The item may show minor signs of wear. All the text is legible, with all pages included. It may have slight markings and/or highlighting.
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The Bone People: A Novel

The Bone People: A Novel

by Hulme, Keri

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  • Paperback
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Binding
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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780140089226 / 0140089225
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Penguin Books, 1986. Paperback. Good. Disclaimer:A copy that has been read, but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact. The spine may show signs of wear. Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include previous owner inscriptions. An ex-library book and may have standard library stamps and/or stickers. At ThriftBooks, our motto is: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
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The Bone People: A Novel

The Bone People: A Novel

by Hulme, Keri

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  • Paperback
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Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780140089226 / 0140089225
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Penguin Books, 1986. Paperback. Good. Disclaimer:A copy that has been read, but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact. The spine may show signs of wear. Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include previous owner inscriptions. The dust jacket is missing. At ThriftBooks, our motto is: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
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The Bone People: A Novel

The Bone People: A Novel

by Hulme, Keri

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  • Paperback
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Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780140089226 / 0140089225
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The Bone People : Booker Prize Winner (a Novel)
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The Bone People : Booker Prize Winner (a Novel)

by Hulme, Keri, Hulme, Keri

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780140089226 / 0140089225
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Penguin Publishing Group. Used - Good. Pages intact with minimal writing/highlighting. The binding may be loose and creased. Dust jackets/supplements are not included. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good.
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The Bone People : Booker Prize Winner (a Novel)
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The Bone People : Booker Prize Winner (a Novel)

by Hulme, Keri, Hulme, Keri

  • Used
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Used
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780140089226 / 0140089225
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Description:
Penguin Publishing Group. Used - Good. Former library copy. Pages intact with minimal writing/highlighting. The binding may be loose and creased. Dust jackets/supplements are not included. Includes library markings. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good.
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