I recently finished rereading
Bastard out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison. I read it years ago in a women's studies class and decided to reread it after unearthing it from a pile of books in my closet.
Set in agrarian South Carolina, Bastard out of Carolina is the semi-autobiographical story of the close-knit Boatwright family. Ruth Anne "Bone" is the bastard daughter of Anney Boatwright; her father is dead and her mother is remarried to petulant Glen, the self-loathing son of an affluent family. Anney hopes the marriage will be a step in the right direction for her little family: Bone and her sister Reese.
The relationship that develops between Bone and Glen is contentious. Glen is furious and distant, violent and demanding. Bone often spends weeks at a time with various members of her large, diverse extended family as she tries to avoid Glen's physical and sexual abuse. Anney maintains her nihilistic delusion and Bone is subjected to Glen's wrath for years.
Bastard out of Carolina is an incredibly grievous exploration of a variety of family dynamics. It displays the subtleties that exist in particularly tenuous relationships; as oppressive as the circumstances are, Bone's extended family of aunts, uncles and cousins continually sustains her.
image via
Penguin Group
