The Bone People - Characters

Characters

• Kerewin Holmes - Kerewin is a reclusive artist who is running away from her past. She is a gifted painter who has suffered painter’s block since winning a lottery, building her tower and falling out with her family. At the beginning of the novel she has lost direction in her life and wants all other people to leave her alone. However, after becoming involved in Simon and Joe's lives she learns to heal her life.

• Joe Gillayley - Joe is the adoptive father of Simon. He is very intelligent and spiritual, but blinded in his judgement, particularly in relation to his raising of Simon, by his alcoholism. Joe seems to both love and respect Kerewin, but also compete with her. He is deeply scarred by his wife's death, contributing to his alcoholism.

• Simon P Gillayley - Simon is a mute, highly intelligent child with an immense interest in details of the world around him. Simon has a deep attachment to both Joe and Kerewin, but shows his love in odd ways because of his strange past. He exhibits a disregard for personal property. He is isolated from others by his inability to speak, as others mistake his muteness for stupidity. Simon refers to himself as Clare or Claro.

His life before meeting Joe is never satisfactorily explained. It is hinted that he was abused before meeting Joe - Joe refers to seeing strange marks on him when he met him for the first time. Simon is also upset by certain things, for example, needles, having his hair cut, or hearing the French language spoken. (It's likely that his birth father was a dissolute Irish heroin addict who was involved in drug smuggling.)