The Bone People

Her cocoon is rudely blown away by the sudden arrival during a rainstorm of Simon, a mute sixyearold whose past seems to hold some terrible trauma. In his wake comes his fosterfather Joe, a Maori factory worker with a nasty temper. The narrative unravels to reveal the truths that lie behind these three characters, and in so doing displays itself as a huge, ambitious work that tackles the clash between Maori and European characters in beautiful prose of a heartrending poignancy.