A friend of mine took up a ‘Seven Day Book Challenge’ on Facebook recently and suggested that I might follow suit. This seemed to involve recommending a different book every day for a week. I was a bit tardy in following this up, but it got me thinking about the wonderful range of books that have spoken to me over the years and it occurred to me that it would be a lovely thing to share through my blog – so here goes! I’ve cheated a little in not sticking to the single sentence I was meant to use to introduce the books…

In no particular order:

Book Number One: The Bone People by Keri Hulme
(First published in Great Britain 1985 by Spiral in association with Hodder and Stoughton)

This book is my all-time favourite novel. It won the Booker McConnell Prize in 1985 and I recall that it divided opinion at the time. It is an intense book, with intensely poetic and beautiful prose.

Set on the South Island beaches of New Zealand it has the sense of a timeless fable, immersed in nature and Maori myth, but at its heart it is the story of three people – Kerewin who sets up home in an isolated tower by the beach, a boy who befriends her, and his father, Joe. I don’t know Keri Hulme managed to write such heart-achingly personal prose – so deep and intense and embedded in each character and their troubles – but it’s absolutely why I Love Love Love this book.