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The Bone People | Introduction

The Bone People, published in 1984, is an unusual story of love. It is unusual in the telling, the subject matter, and the form of love that the story depicts. This is in no way a romance; it is filled with violence, fear, and twisted emotions. At the story's core, however, are three people who struggle very hard to figure out what love is and how to find it.

Hulme won New Zealand's Pegasus Prize for Literature (1984) for The Bone People. Then the book went on to win the prestigious Booker Prize (1985), a coveted literary award. The Bone People, which began as a short story, took Hulme twelve years to write. As of 2006, it was the only novel that she has published.

The Bone People has been praised for its story and for the way it is written, which is said to reflect the intonation and style of the Maori language. The story is, in fact, filled with allusions to the Maori culture and many of the challenges that the Maori people face, those common struggles caused by the colonization of an indigenous people. At the same time, however, the problems that are presented in this story have universal relevance. The story attempts to answer questions about how one heals deep-seated, emotional pain, how one becomes true to oneself, and how one finds love.

The Bone People Summary

Prologue The End At The Beginning

I Season Of The Day Moon

Keri Hulme's The Bone People is written in a nontraditional style. It begins with a prologue, which includes a poem and three short sections that serve as oblique introductions to the three main characters, although readers will only recognize this fact after they have completed the novel and then look back at the prologue again.

1 Portrait Of A Sandal

Kerewin Holmes, the protagonist of this story, falls asleep outside. When she awakens, she notices a sandal that lies at her feet. She curses the intruder who must have left it, a small shoe with a hole through the heel. Kerewin suspects it belongs to a child who must have stepped on something sharp and, from the footprints she finds, must have then limped away.

Kerewin lives on an isolated parcel of land in a house she has built in the shape of a tower. She has never invited anyone to visit her home.

Kerewin enters her house and spots a young boy sitting high in the midst of some bookshelves. Kerewin yells at him and soon discovers that the child cannot talk. The young boy wears a pendant that bears his name, phone number, and address. His name is Simon P. Gillayley.

Kerewin notices the boy has a piece of sharp wood stuck in his foot. She pulls it out and bandages his foot then tells him to go home. The boy communicates through hand gestures and short notes he writes on a pad. Kerewin feels something for the boy and invites him to stay for lunch. Afterward, she calls the boy's telephone number. She uses a radiophone, which has to go through an operator who says he will call Kerewin back when he reaches someone at the other end. The operator calls back later and says that the father is working late and he has not been able to reach the Tainuis, a couple that sometimes takes care of Simon while his father is away.

Kerewin tells Simon that he can stay until someone comes to pick him up. No one shows up until the next morning. Piri Tainui, a cousin of the boy's father, finally comes. Piri says that Joe, Simon's father, is still sleeping. Piri takes Simon home.

2 Feelers

The next day, Joe comes by to thank Kerewin and brings the boy with him. He also brings back the black chess queen that Simon has stolen from Kerewin's house. Joe explains how Simon constantly gets into trouble and also has a hard time at school. Joe is impressed that Kerewin was so good with Simon and is surprised that Simon asked to see her again.

Joe then tells Kerewin the story of how he found Simon, the victim of a shipwreck. Joe is not certain of Simon's age. He has had Simon for three years. Simon is probably between seven and nine years of age. Kerewin invites Joe and Simon to stay for tea (dinner).

Simon falls asleep. Joe and Kerewin play chess. A few days later, Simon turns up at Kerewin's home. Simon has brought Kerewin a gift, a string of semi-precious stones, which she refuses because she recognizes that the stones are an heirloom, an old rosary, possibly. Simon insists that the stones are his to give; Kerewin accepts graciously but also reluctantly, feeling unworthy of them.

Kerewin is an artist. In the past few years, she has been unable to paint. She tries to work out an image, while Simon is still there. Then she thinks about him and realizes that Simon has touched her, both physically and emotionally, something that she is unused to. She recoils from his touch, but at the same time, she also starts opening up to him.

Joe shows up and invites Kerewin to join him and Simon for tea at his house. They go to Joe's house. In the midst of the meal, Joe gets angry at Simon for sneaking a glass of wine. He threatens to beat the boy. Kerewin senses the tension and breaks it by complimenting Joe for the meal.

When Simon is ready for bed, he kisses Kerewin. She says it has been a long time since she has been kissed. The last was from her brother before the big family break up. She does not explain what happened then.

After Simon goes to bed, Joe tells Kerewin how he found the boy three years earlier. There had been a storm. A boat had crashed against the rocks. Two bodies were found. Then Joe found Simon and performed artificial respiration. Several of Simon's bones were cracked, and the boy was in shock and also had pneumonia. Simon would not let go of Joe's hand all the while he was in the hospital. Joe and his wife, Hana, decided to keep Simon.

Police never determine who the other two people were. The necklace of semi-precious stones that Simon had given to Kerewin used to belong to one the people who died. The necklace was found around the woman's neck. Simon clung to the necklace, not allowing anyone to take it from him during his first year with Joe.

Later, Kerewin asks Joe if he has ever taken a vacation. Joe tells her how he has tried, but nothing seemed to work out right with Simon. Kerewin tells Joe about a little beach shack that her family owns and suggests they all go there sometime.

3 Leaps In The Dark

Kerewin writes in her journal. She refers to herself as a "neuter human." She tells the journal she cannot paint. She refers to Simon as "a very unlikely but strangely likable brat." She admits that she wants to uncover Simon's history. She has done some research. The string of semi-precious stones... ยป Complete The Bone People Summary