Bastard Out of Carolina

Bastard out of Carolina, by Dorothy Alison
REVIEW: To paraphrase my friend AH, rarely have I wanted to come through the pages of a novel and absolutely throttle one of the characters. But, oh my, how I wanted to hurt the mom in this story. This is the story of a preteen girl in about 1950s North Carolina, named Bone (real name, Ruth Anne). She was born out of wedlock, as the title implies, and she was from a desperately poor family. She had several aunts and uncles nearby, as well as her grandparents. The women were all overworked and chronically tired and the men were hard-drinkers and prone to violence. Bone had a younger sister with whom she had a similar relationship that she had with her countless cousins. The mother eventually remarries and Bone becomes the victim of his abuse, both physical and verbal. This book feels like a tree that has been planted in too-small a container. The roots get all twisted and turn back on themselves. That's how I felt about the plot. It was thick and twisted and very disturbing. I don't know for sure if the author was also a victim of abuse (websites imply as much), but she writes about it a painfully clear and truthful-sounding way.
RATING: R (the end is particularly disturbing)
STARS: 4.5 out of 5

SPOILER ALERT: Discussion follows with detail about the plot. Skip it if you think you might read this powerful story. This is a copy of an email I sent a friend after I read this book.

I finished reading this earlier. I loved the desperate, raw writing, while hating Glen and sometimes Anney. Its violence and deep love among the extended family members were juxtaposed, but almost mirror images in some ways. It's very complex and knotted and not easy to narrow it down to one feeling. I so wanted Bone to whack Glen with that big hook. I wondered why it never made another appearance after she "redeemed" herself at Woolworth. And then after all she'd been through to have her mama choose Glen over her and leave her with her aunt... I'm not sure anyone knew she had been raped, but certainly the beating (any one of them!) should have been enough for her mama to leave that guy in a heartbeat. And where the hell was Aunt Alma while Glen was beating the hell out of Bone? I loved her crazy aunts and uncles, as hard-scrabble as they all were and as relatively useless as the men were. I looked the author up online and one website said it was semi-autobiographical and another said that it was autobiographical (although obviously the names are changed, so I'm thinking semi is a better description). She was born in S Carolina and she is a lesbian. She was a National Merit Scholar and went to undergrad on a full ride and also has a master's in social work. It doesn't surprise me that it has at least some basis in truth, based on how raw and well-described Bone's emotions are. I also thought it was interesting that Shannon was described as an albino and her last name was Pearl. I guess you could dig into the meaning of that name too - irritating, but eventually became something beautiful (once totally covered up - in death?). Also interesting is how much Reese is left out of things - particularly Glen's abuse of Bone. Although, there is a slight implication that there might be more than meets the eye since at 8 she is masturbating too and acting like she's a superhero and being chased by monsters or whatever. Overall, I guess the desperation stands out. Anney desperate to provide for her girls and desperate to be loved. Well, all of their desperation to be loved, really. And Raylene says to Bone at the end about she has a crazy view of what love is. Well, duh, what with Glen telling her he loved her as he's beating her and then as he's raping her. They all wanted love, but didn't really know how to give it and didn't really know how to receive it. All in all, I liked it a lot, but I felt there were some missing pieces. Maybe that was intentional, though, since it's such a tightly written novel, full of so much complexity of the characters. I thought the writing was like roots of a plant grown in too-small a pot, where they get all tangled and wrapped around each other. Ok, that sounds kinda cheesy, but that's how I felt reading it, like they were all choking.