He is picked up the next morning by a family friend later that evening Simon's foster father, Joe, visits Kerewin to thank her for looking after Simon. He is mute and communicates with Kerewin through hand signals and notes. On a stormy afternoon a young child, Simon, appears at the tower.

She is isolated from her family and interacts little with the local community, but is able to live independently after winning a lottery and investing well. Kerewin lives in a tower overlooking the sea on the coast of the South Island. Nevertheless, the novel has remained popular into the 21st century, continuing to sell well in New Zealand and overseas, and is widely recognised as a New Zealand literary classic. After initial commercial success in New Zealand, the book was published overseas and became the first New Zealand novel and first debut novel to win the Booker Prize in 1985, although not without controversy two of the five judges opposed the book's choice for its portrayals of child abuse and violence. Hulme spent many years working on the novel, but was unable to find a mainstream publisher who was willing to accept the book without significant editing it was eventually published by the small all-women collective of Spiral. The novel has polarised critics and readers, with some praising the novel for its power and originality, while others have criticised Hulme's writing style and portrayals of violence. Māori and Pākehā (New Zealand European) culture, myths and language are blended through the novel. Over the course of the novel the trio develop a tentative relationship, are driven apart by violence, and reunite. Set on the coast of the South Island of New Zealand, the novel focuses on three characters, all of whom are isolated in different ways: a reclusive artist, a mute child, and the child's foster father. The Bone People, styled by the writer and in some editions as the bone people, is a 1984 novel by New Zealand writer Keri Hulme.

The Bone People by Keri Hulme