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Winter's Bone
I received Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell just this past Christmas. I wasn't considering it next in my lengthy reading list queue, but Heather read it and told me how much she enjoyed the novel. So when I need a new book for my train rides I decided to pick up Woodrell's book.
 The plot is pretty basic. In the Ozark mountain region, a 16-year-old girl named Ree Dolly struggles to care for her mentally ill mother and her two young brothers. Before the story in the book begins, Ree's career methamphetamine-cooking father had been recently arrested, posted bail using their house as collateral, and then disappeared. They story picks up when he doesn't appear for his court case and the bondsman comes with news that if poor Jessup doesn't show up - dead or alive - in the next thirty days, the house is going to be repossessed and Ree and her family will be out on the street (or in a cave, as the case may be). Ree sets out to find her dad, but is challenged every step of the way by her extended family - all of whom are in the business of selling crank and more concerned with protecting their business than helping a family member. It's a fairly straight forward mystery with Ree taking on the role of detective.
I had a difficult time getting into this book. The story didn't grab me immediately and there just didn't seem to be any characters I could relate to. And many of them were so seriously flawed that I had a hard time even sympathizing with them. I stuck with it though, and the more I read the more I appreciated and enjoyed the novel. Woodrell displays a unique voice in his writing that I found pleasing. His prose is smooth and deliberate, with an attention to just the right details to bring the essence of a scene to life. The characters might not leave a lasting impression, but we feel in our gut what it was like to be there when that scene was happening. After reading the book I am left with the memory of scene experiences.
Like them or not, we only get inside the head of Ree and understand her as a character, and that's only because the novel is written in first person narrative from her point of view. With the other characters, we only know as much as Ree will tell us and by observing their actions as described to us by Ree. We see them all through the filter of Ree. But considering Woodrell's style of prose and selection of material, I don't think he's interested in the characters as individuals. He wants to explore the idea of family. How it can destroy and save an individual.
This dual nature of family is on perfect display within the pages of Winter's Bone. Ree's father's decision to use the family house to secure bail threatens to make his family homeless. Ree's extended family vehemently counters her attempts at learning the fate of her father. Ree's Uncle Teardrop exemplifies this duality if family in his relationship with Ree. He verbally abuses her and repeating puts her down, but when things get at their worst for Ree he is there to pick her up and protect her from the rest of their family that will not stop. This theme of family is interesting, though not necessarily revelatory. (At least not for me. Your mileage may vary.)
Technically it was a solid novel filled with beautifully written prose. However neither the characters, the story, nor themes explored within ever grabbed my imagination. Winter's Bone is certainly a good book, but not one that I would highly recommending.
posted by Brendan | 4:07 PM | permanent link
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I'm a Child of the 80s wandering through my days with his lovely wife and three kids.
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