Winter's Bone

A Novel

By: Daniel Woodrell

Narrated by: Emma Galvin

Length: 4 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

The sheriff's deputy at the front door brings hard news to Ree Dolly. Her father has skipped bail on charges that he ran a crystal meth lab, and the Dollys will lose their house if he doesn't show up for his next court date.

Ree's father has disappeared before. The Dolly clan has worked the shadowy side of the law for generations, and arrests (and attempts to avoid them) are part of life in Rathlin Valley. With two young brothers depending on her and a mother who's entered a kind of second childhood, 16-year-old Ree knows she has to bring her father back, dead or alive. She has grown up in the harsh poverty of the Ozarks and learns quickly that asking questions of the rough Dolly clan can be a fatal mistake. But along the way to a shocking revelation, Ree discovers unforeseen depths in herself and in a family network that protects its own at any cost.

©2006 Daniel Woodrell (P)2010 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Like his characters, and especially his teen characters, Woodrell's prose mixes tough and tender so thoroughly yet so delicately that we never taste even a hint of false bravado, on the one hand, or sentimentality, on the other. And Ree is one of those heroines whose courage and vulnerability are both irresistible and completely believable - think of not just Mattie Ross in True Grit but also Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird or even Eliza Naumann in Bee Season. One runs out of superlatives to describe Woodrell's fiction. ( Booklist)

“At its best, the novel captures the near-religious criminal mania pervasive in rural communities steeped in drug culture. Woodrell's prose, lyrical as often as dialogic, creates an unwieldy but alluring narrative that allows him to draw moments of unexpected tenderness from predictable scripts.” ( Publisher’s Weekly)

“In spare but evocative prose, Woodrell depicts a harsh world in which the responsibilities for survival ultimately give Rees meaning and direction. He depicts the landscape, people, and dialects with stunning realism. A compelling testament to how people survive in the worst of circumstances.” ( School Library Journal)

Be sure you listen to the sample

I kept thinking why don't I just stop and read this book. The narration was torture. The same rocking cadence like a person who thinks they read poetry well because they have a rocking rhythm but it takes so much away from the story. Enormously distracting. A bleak story but insightful I guess.

Lyrical prose for an ugly life

I truly thought this was a female writer at first because of the way it was written, so lyrical and sensitive. such a contrast to the life the characters lead. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and with the exception of some mispronunciations by the narrator, she was good too.

No point

To this story. Depression,poverty, drugs, alcohol with no end in sight. Ugh ugh ugh

Brutally accurate

What did you love best about Winter's Bone?

One of the tenets of successful writing is to write what you know. Having spent many years in the Ozarks myself, it's obvious that Mr. Woodrell is familiar with the clannishness, disdain for law enforcement, and raw poverty of many of its residents.
Winter's Bone was a focused unmasking of the realities meth manufacturing and of the convoluted family ties accepted as normal in the back woods of the Ozarks.
This was my first Daniel Woodrell novel. I'm anxious to see if his other works are as entertaining and informative.

Bleak and beautiful

Woodrell's language is just something else. You feel like you're there. Cold, windblown, desolate. The attention to detail is so convincing. Galvin's performance for the female characters and children is spectacular.

Excellent

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. Good story told in a way that made me feel like I was really there.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Winter's Bone?

The many times Ree was tried to figure out how she'd keep her brothers fed, warm, and well through the winter. This level of poverty exists, regardless of whether we see it every day.

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

I have not, but I thought this was excellent. Her accent was exceptional and it completed the story.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

That Teardrop was there when Ree needed him the most.

Grippingly Gritty

Would you listen to Winter's Bone again? Why?

No. Rarely listen to or read books twice.

What other book might you compare Winter's Bone to and why?

True Grit. (Although I have only seen the movie). Because of the young girl in search of her father.

Gripping

I saw the movie 1st, and was curious about the book. It more than lived up to my expectations, as I felt myself in the harsh Ozarks life.

Great Book!!!!

This is a great book from beginning to end! You won’t regret! There is also a movie!

Ambivalent

Some nice prose. But overall faintly annoying . Yes some people are like that in that area, but the stereotype is quite tiresome. Not much depth to the story.