A profound portrait of family dynamics in the rural South and “an essential novel” (The New Yorker) “As close to flawless as any reader could ask for . . . The living language [Allison] has created is as exact and innovative as the language of To Kill a Mockingbird and The Catcher in the Rye.” —The New York Times Book Review The publication of Dorothy Allison’s Bastard Out of Carolina was a … Review
The publication of Dorothy Allison’s Bastard Out of Carolina was a landmark event that won the author a National Book Award nomination and launched her into the literary spotlight. Critics have likened Allison to Harper Lee, naming her the first writer of her generation to dramatize the lives and language of poor whites in the South. Since its appearance, the novel has inspired an award-winning film and has been banned from libraries and classrooms, championed by fans, and defended by critics.
Greenville County, South Carolina, is a wild, lush place that is home to the Boatwright family—a tight-knit clan of rough-hewn, hard-drinking men who shoot up each other’s trucks, and indomitable women who get married young and age too quickly. At the heart of this story is Ruth Anne Boatwright, known simply as Bone, a bastard child who observes the world around her with a mercilessly keen perspective. When her stepfather Daddy Glen, “cold as death, mean as a snake,” becomes increasingly more vicious toward her, Bone finds herself caught in a family triangle that tests the loyalty of her mother, Anney—and leads to a final, harrowing encounter from which there can be no turning back.
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A sometimes terrifying look into the world of Southern White Poverty. The strong family ties, transient marriages, teen pregnancy, violence, hardship – it’s all here.
Well written and easy to read. Very moving novel. One of my all time favorites.
An excellent story. It would work for a rainy day or a snowy day or even a sunny day. I felt all of these elements in this book. It is a story told by “Bone”, a young girl growing up poor in the south. Her family runs the gammet of the human existance and I believe that her aunt Raylene is probably the only family member who appears to be sane in her reasoning, thinking and her interaction with others. The story includes humor, sadness, abuse, alcholism and every posible combination that would scar a childhood. There is also love sprinkled throughout but not enough of it is continuous as a child would need.
Read this book.
A classic read. Timeless and relevant.
It was awful.
Vulgar, crude,
I had to force myself to finish this book, because of the violence.
A beautifully written and deeply disturbing account of severe child abuse.
I really liked this book, it was so real and gritty. I have known families like this and seen many of them in Texas where I grew up.
Loved the characters, loved the storyline. The main topic made me mad and sickened me Very realistic and a story of courage and self-preservation. I was only disappointed at the ending. It could have been much better.
Published 7 years ago, this book ranks alongside To Kill a Mockingbird in its depiction of stereotypes smashed, fantasies unrealized, and love played out in all its many chaotic and often destructive permutations. Bone, the young narrator, looks at her life steeped in poverty with wide-open eyes. Her large, complex, extended family gives the book a depth full of color and realism. The physical and sexual abuse Bone experiences is terrifying but comprehensible as told as layer after layer is peeled back. Poverty is a backdrop to the story but not an exclusive corner on violence. Read it to advocate for women and children everywhere.
This is a classic everyone should read
Very sad. Caught my attention at the start but got somewhat disturbing the further into it I got. Something about it kept me reading though until I had to find out how it ended. Wish I hadn’t. Was depressed after reading it. Just to dark for me .
Great book. A little tough to read, but I already had a decent idea about some of the themes in this book. It’s never easy being in a young girl put into situations you have no control over. I felt this book deeply. I love the courage and resilience of some characters. I love how the book flowed without judgement on these people’s lives, just told a story.
A story that gets inside you and stays with you long after you’ve finished the last page. A unique insight into growing up in the 1950’s South and the abuse to which so many children were routinely subjected at a time when children were to be seen and not heard, when they were mere property rather than individuals with rights.
There are bastards in this world, but they are not children and their bastard status is achieved regardless of whether or not their parents were married. A disturbing book with contemptible adult characters, except for the extended Boatwright family. A big fan of Bone’s Boatwright uncles. In my imagination those good old Boatwright boys eventually had good hunting.
Excellent read!
I loved this book when I read it years ago, so when I saw I thought why not get & re-read it.
The movie was very faithful to the book, but I recommend reading the book first. Good choice for a book clubs’ reading.
Gripping and gritty–the main character moves right into your heart and mind and camps out for a while. A coming of age story about abuse, betrayal and the redeeming powers of love and family.
A well told tale of how hideously we have historically treated children of atypical families. The hurts we inflict, and the inherent courage and resilience of these innocents, is hauntingly told here. It makes you proud to have been a child and ashamed to have become an adult.