4.0
Bastard Out of Carolina
ByPublisher Description
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
One of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years
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.
“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
One of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years
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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4.0
John Gaddy
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Fatty Tuli
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Nancy Gillespie
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“It was based off of the writer’s own childhood thus proving that fact is stranger than fiction. Bone tells the story with a closed-off demeanor out of pain and as a trauma response. It felt rushed and didn’t explore the impact of every plot point.”cmgoemans
Created 13 days agoShare
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““We do terrible things to the ones we love sometimes,” she said. “We can’t explain it. We can’t excuse it. It eats us up, but we do it just the same.”
This book will break your heart into 1,000 pieces and at the same time, soothe you with its gorgeous words. This book was a tough read. Family has the power to build you up, protect and love you fiercely, but also destroy everything you know about yourself. But we all make decisions about when forgiveness can begin; if only we can find the words.
Thankfully, Dorothy Allison found the words to bring us Bastard Out of Carolina. Out of her hard truth, comes this beautiful fiction.
Please be aware and check the trigger warnings for violence, sexual abuse & assault.”
audan2006
Created 16 days agoShare
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About Dorothy Allison
Dorothy Allison is the acclaimed author of the nationally bestselling novel Bastard Out of Carolina, which was a finalist for the 1992 National Book Award. She is also the author of the short story collection Trash and the bestselling novel Cavedweller, which was named a New York Times Notable Book. The recipient of numerous awards, she lives in Northern California.
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