“So I have finished reading Dorothy Allison’s Bastard Out Of Carolina. The work is semi-autobiographical and it is really a warts and all, gritty ”tell it like it is” tale. There are several things that stand out in reading the story of Bone, the illegitimate child of a 15 year old girl. Although born into poverty, raised by an unstable abusive stepfather, undermined and unsure of herself at every turn, Allison portrays the strength and close bonds of the large, raggedy, unruly and notorious Boatwright family with great skill. There is no apologies for them, they just are who they are and do what they do. The personalities of the various Aunts, Uncles and myriad of cousins are well crafted and form an intricate tapestry as backdrop to Bone’s story.
There are parts of the book where there is nothing but ongoing violence, a pervasive atmosphere of gloom and doom, intimidation, things threatening to get out of control at any second, anxiety topped by the need to just keep holding on and hoping the worst doesn’t happen. I found this disturbing and difficult to read, and these passages don’t seem to be relieved by much of anything. It must be said that this is no doubt a true to life depiction of how an abused child feels - there is no relief, helplessly watching everything, alert, the threat is there lurking in the background all the time.
The most disturbing thing running through the central core of the entire book is Bone’s constant and repeated betrayal at the hands of her own mother, whom she adores. This, Dorothy Allison, surely nails home without any doubt. Given the size of the family, their willingness to help and protect Anney and her children, and their reaction when the abuse becomes known to them, there is really no other option but to feel sick and appalled at the choices Anney Boatwright makes over and over again, to expose her child to the experience of having Glen as a stepdaddy.
It was a hard read. But well written.
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