Bastard Out of Carolina Bastard Out of Carolina

Bastard Out of Carolina

A Novel

    • 4.4 • 401 Ratings
    • $4.99

Publisher 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.

GENRE
Fiction & Literature
RELEASED
1992
April 30
LANGUAGE
EN
English
LENGTH
320
Pages
PUBLISHER
Penguin Publishing Group
SELLER
PENGUIN GROUP USA, INC.
SIZE
2.9
MB

Customer Reviews

DCLQUINN ,

Extraordinary and difficult book

I will remember this book for a long long time. The subject matter of poverty, family, love and betrayal are not new. The heartbreaking abuse of young girls happens every day around the world. The author manages to bring a coming-of-age story to life with occasional humor but mostly the stark reality of a child that desperately wants to fit in and be loved. I just wanted to take that little girl in my arms and whisk her away. I highly recommend this novel.

Minnie K ,

Powerful book

I picked this book up at about 9 AM Saturday morning and finished it at 10 AM Sunday morning. I just couldn’t put it down.

lsmarquez ,

Heartbreakingly Good

I loved this book in all it’s innocence, pain and violence. It’s not a story untold but it is so well written it’s worth reading. This is not a happy story but the main character is resilient and brave, each emotion easily relatable. The author truly took care to make each character feel real, so much so I really felt I was slowly growing up with the characters as they navigated the hardships of life.

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