Bastard Out of Carolina

By: Dorothy Allison

Narrated by: Elizabeth Evans

Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

A modern literary classic, now available in a 20th anniversary edition with a new afterword by the author.

The publication of Dorothy Allison's Bastard Out of Carolina was a landmark event. The novel's profound portrait of family dynamics in the rural South won the author a National Book Award nomination and launched her into the literary spotlight. Critics have likened Allison to William Faulkner, Flannery O'Connor, and 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.

©1992 Dorothy Allison (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Great book.

Simply put: An unthinkable story that must be told. Done with empathy and shared pain.

Interesting narrative

This was a wonderfully portrayed book and gave me insight into aspects of life I had never thought existed. The family dynamics alone are worthy of narrative praise. I could feel this story in my bones.

Hard

It was hard to get through the first 3or4 chapters... it was a lot of nonsense that didn't matter to the book. After that it gets super deep and all comes together. I'm glad I stuck with it.

Powerful but dark

Excellent book and well performed. it was very graphic and very dark, though. I need to read a comedy next!

Courageous and Triumphant

This book took me to a place that I did not want to go. A place that I wanted never to return to. Bone has given me the courage to speak about that place without feeling shame. Dorothy Allison has brought beauty from ashes through a story where the character suffers injustice yet does not allow her spirit to be broken by those who view her and her kind as trash. This is a place that I know too well where culture and classism blind others to view the humanity in others. I not only view this as the rape of child, but the rape of an entire people soiled by the dominant culture through negative stereotypes, negligence, and violence.

Sad story

It's hard for me to write a review of a story like this. I was upset at the ending. After I heard the author's comments at the end the reason for the ending made sense.

❤️

Dorothy Allison is so, so good at writing characters you can't help but love. And, also, breaking your heart.

What a book!

For anyone who loves the literature of the South, Allen’s work is heartbreaking and vivid

My heart broke all over again

What did you love best about Bastard Out of Carolina?

The gritty truth of the story and the unwavering bond within a family

Would you recommend Bastard Out of Carolina to your friends? Why or why not?

Yes, It is a compelling and raw story that is disturbing, yet so very real and more common than society would like to think.The author takes a brutally courageous approach to the subject matter and openly shows how the characters are impacted by their situations.

Have you listened to any of Elizabeth Evans’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not, but would consider doing so; she has great tone and is a very good narrator based on this experience.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

“Everything that comes to us is a blessing or a test. That’s all you need to know in this life.”

Any additional comments?

This book is raw, the physical and sexual abuse and how this forms the child's psyche is disturbing but oh so real. Some reviewers seemed to feel that there was too much focus on the sexual abuse and masturbation, I have to completely disagree; it is a part of the story but by far not at all the whole story, so please don't let the negative reviews deter you. This is a hauntingly good read.

She told my story....AndMany others

The more abuse is brought to light the less shame, fear and guilt will be felt by the victims. Perpetrators.... beware. We will not be silenced and we will not turn our heads and look the other way. God bless her for having the courage it took to write this book.