Read about another entry on the list.Ruth Anne “Bone” Boatwright (Bastard Out of Carolina, by Dorothy Allison)
Bone begins her story by relating the details of her birth. Her 15-year-old mother was comatose at the time of delivery, making her unable to lie about her marital status. Thus, Bone is deemed a bastard. The narration of one’s own birth could easily come across as pretentious, but with Bone there is no pretense. Her life is the stuff of Greek tragedy. For years she is abused (in every sense of the word) at the hands of her stepfather, and her mother refuses to acknowledge that it’s happening until she finally sees it for herself. In a scene that is nothing short of excruciating, Bone’s mother chooses the man she married over her daughter, quickly fleeing town with him. Bone tells her devastating story plainly and without flinching. And the effect is that the reader flinches for her—but can’t help coming back to the page to hear the rest of Bone’s story.
--Marshal Zeringue
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