Point of View

“The Bone People” is told in both first and third person point of view. Many parts of each chapter are written in third person, but there are many times that it will unexpectedly switch to the story being told in first person. The reader must pay close attention as it is never clearly written when the voices change between characters as they relate their own thoughts and feelings about what occurs in each chapter. The final three chapters are the only exception to this. Chapter 10 relates the story of what happened to Joe after he is released from prison, Chapter 11 is of Simon in the hospital and covers almost six months after he is released, and Chapter 12 is of Kerewin after she leaves the Tower.

Setting

This novel takes place in the Southern Islands of New Zealand. As the book was published in 1984, it can...