Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison

Recommended by Sara Lucas

Bastard out of Carolina has been described as the story of a family told from the point of view of its smallest member, which is true, but that’s a very narrow view of a very complex story. The main character, a lost soul named Bone, is a bastard. It’s stamped on her birth certificate. Her mother, a woman both young and old at the same time, is haunted by the state’s pronouncement but unwilling to reveal the identity of Bone’s father. Bone’s uncles have been in and out of jail for as long as anyone can remember. She has more cousins than anyone in her town knows what to do with. Bone’s life is hard from the beginning. It gets worse when her mother marries Glen, a man fallen from a family that wouldn’t otherwise associate with a people like Bone’s hard living, hard drinking kin.

Bone’s view of her relationships with members of her family, a girl that she calls friend, and the horrible Daddy Glen is the heart of this piece. Allison crafts Bone as an astute observer, breaking the audience’s heart even as she explains something in the truest way possible. This novel changed the way I view domestic violence and how it affects the development of the soul of the children involved. Bone was Bone from beginning of the novel to the end, but there are so many variations of Bone that I was constantly amazed at her wisdom and toughness.

Bastard out of Carolina is a complex, powerful, often difficult read, but definitely worth the emotional investment.