by Keri Hulme
First published 1993
Kerewin Holmes lives alone in her house on New Zealand's South Island beaches, painting and avoiding human connection. She believes caring for anything brings disaster. Her solitude shatters when six-year-old Simon breaks in. The boy cannot speak and survived a shipwreck that killed everyone else aboard. Joe Gillayley, a Maori factory worker, has adopted Simon after losing his own wife. Joe loves the child but also beats him in fits of rage he cannot control. The three outcasts circle each other warily. All carry mixed European and Maori blood. All fear attachment yet crave it desperately. Kerewin watches Joe swing between tenderness and violence toward Simon. Simon seeks connection but his muteness traps his thoughts inside. Joe struggles with grief and anger that explode without warning. Each character fights the pull toward the others while battling private demons. Their fractured attempts at forming a family play out against the harsh coastal landscape. The novel moves between their perspectives as they navigate the dangerous territory between isolation and love.
Genres: literary-fiction, 20th-century, adoption, family-drama
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, outsiders
Setting: New Zealand, South Island
Period: 20th Century
464 pages · Paperback · Picador
Content warnings: abuse, violence