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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
Very heavy
Repeated child abuse throughout — Joe beats Simon multiple times; the violence is depicted with full weight
Language
Some
Some profanity throughout
Sexual Content
Barely any
Brief sexual content
Substance Use
Some
Significant drinking — Joe's alcoholism is part of the cycle of abuse
Emotional Intensity
Very heavy
Extreme psychological content: the novel demands the reader understand how violence and love can coexist; the psychology of the abusive relationship between Joe and Simon is the novel's most demanding subject
What this book is about
Keri Hulme's Booker Prize-winning novel follows three damaged people: Kerewin Holmes, a reclusive half-Maori artist; Joe Gillayley, a Maori factory worker; and Simon, a mute boy Joe has adopted after he washed up on the beach. The novel deals directly and unflinchingly with child abuse — Simon is beaten repeatedly by Joe, whose violence is intertwined with genuine love and despair. In prose of extraordinary lyrical power, Hulme demands the reader hold violence and love simultaneously.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Repeated child abuse is central to the narrative — Joe beats Simon throughout
Alcoholism as an enabling factor in the abuse
The novel asks readers to hold violence and love in the same person simultaneously
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