Winter's Bone: A Novel

Winters Bone is truly a coming of age story that has you rooting for the heroine the entire book. Daniel Woodrell is a fantastic author. The imagery he uses is amazing; in your head you see exactly what he wants you to. The book depicts a gritty and raw lifestyle that I didn’t even know people lived anymore. Woodrells main character Ree Dolly shows the kind of strength and gumption that most men don’t have, yet she’s a girl of only 16. Jessup Dolly has skipped bail, leaving the fate of the family home in balance. Ree, who is caring for not only her two young brothers but also her incapacitated mother, has to now track down her meth cook father so her family doesn’t lose their home that was unbeknownst to Ree, put up for bond. Amidst threats of death and violence from her father’s cohorts, Ree stands up for herself and her family to find the answers she’s looking for. Daniel Woodrell uses imagery to convey emotion and feeling in his book. The tone is set throughout as cold and empty. Ree has to set out on her search in the dead of winter with little hope and the scene is set perfectly. The first few lines of the book are a perfect example. Ree and her family are hungry and have no money. The neighbors have a freshly slain deer and the food is taunting Ree “meat hung from trees across the creek. The carcasses hung pale of flesh with a fatty gleam from low limbs of saplings in the side yards” (2) Food is right in front of her but just out of her grasp. This is perfect foreshadowing of how things proceed in her search for her father. Ree is a very strong willed character, she faces an extraordinary amount of adversity. On her own she has to face criminals and outlaws to find the answers she is looking for. Early in the novel Ree visits her uncle to ask for help finding her father “Don’t you, nor nobody else, neither, ever go down around Hawkfall askin’ them people...about stuff they aint offerin to talk about.” (24) This excerpt sets the tone for the kind of resistance Ree is going to encounter on her quest. Ree transforms throughout the book; she’s a different person at the end than she was in the beginning. I really rooted for Ree. The frustrating thing for me was that she didn’t always do what I wanted her to do. Ree is unrelenting and unwavering in her search, when told no she keeps asking questions and going to other sources. Ree does all this for her family, the two little boys at home that she is responsible for. Ree is selfless in this sense, putting her brother’s welfare before her own safety. I am impressed by Daniel Woodrell, he grew up in the Ozarks. All of his books are set in the Ozark Mountains and echo his life. It is very brave of him to make his books, especially Winters Bone, so personal and I commend him for that. I don’t think that’s something many people can handle. Personal writing leaves you out in the open, exposed; it’s scary. Woodrell’s experience growing up and living in this environment gives Winters Bone and authenticity that not many books can claim. I felt a strong personal connection to not only the book, but to Ree as well. I have a love hate relationship with Winters Bone. My first reaction upon finishing the book wasn’t a good one, I was unhappy with the outcome and I didn’t like where Ree was at the end. After having time to mull it over and let things sink in. I have decided that I really liked the book. I do recommend this Winters Bone, but with a few stipulations. First, it must be read quickly, in two or three sittings; it tends to drag a bit in areas and reading the book quickly will keep the reader engaged. Second I strongly suggest reading this book at least two times, there is a lot to absorb and there are some confusing scenes. Winters Bone is an incredible journey that everyone should experience.

“Her agony was the song and the song held so many voices…” This line encompasses the melancholy, yet beautiful, passage into adulthood of sixteen-year-old Ree Dolly depicted in Daniel Woodrell’s book, Winter’s Bone, as well as the exquisite writing style of said author. When beginning this book I had many reservations: the novel had been made into a movie that I had never seen, but heard wasn’t anything to write home about, and when I have read literature for school in the past, I have been emotionally disconnected from the material because it wasn’t of my own choosing. With this said, I was pleasantly surprised with the way this tale captured me and drew me in so that I felt close to the characters themselves. That is another credit to Woodrell’s writing style. He clearly defines the characters as well as their personalities, their purpose in the story, and their motives. Ree’s physical, mental, and emotional journey begins when her father, a meth manufacturer, leaves his wife and three children behind, telling Ree to only look for him “soon as you can see my face”. The author implies that this is not a rare occurrence. After some time a police officer shows up at the Dolly’s doorstep, asking where Ree’s father Jessup is. The officer informs her that he can’t find her father, who is out of jail on bond and has a court date within the week. If Jessup doesn’t show up to court they will lose their home and land because he signed them over for his bond. With the realization that she may have to care for her two younger brothers and mentally ill mother with no roof over their heads, Ree makes the decision to find her father before time is up. In her quest to locate her father, Ree must ask for the help of several of her kin folk and Jessup’s drug running crowd who live in the area, which is a very dangerous, and brave, thing to do. The first character we meet is Jessup’s brother, Teardrop, who is unwilling to aid Ree in her search. At first glance it is hard to tell whether he is an adversary or an antagonist, but it becomes clearer as the story progresses. Another memorable character, Ree’s childhood best friend Gail, is also a key component to the story as well as an important ally. There are a lot of unexpected twists and turns as the plot lopes (a favorite verb of Woodrell’s) forward. One character with whom I felt a particular connection was Ree. She is strong, motivated, and independent. Growing up in the Ozarks has hardened her and she is better for it. Her personality is rough around the edges with a little bit of attitude, but she has a softness when it comes to her younger brothers, Harold and Sonny, and her friend Gail. Ree’s strength and persistence is enviable. Another character who was well-defined and intriguing was Uncle Teardrop. He is a meth cook and a junkie, taking at least one hit in every scene that he is featured, and has a prison tattoo of three teardrops leaking from his eye, thus the name “Teardrop”. Ree is scared of him and for good reason: he has an explosive, unpredictable temper that causes him to become violent, most likely a side effect from his generous use of meth. Ree’s mother was the third character who stood out to me. It is never plainly stated what her mental ailment is, but she is clearly not in a position to help around the house, much less to care for her three children. When Officer Baskin arrives at their home to find Jessup at the beginning of the novel, he asks to speak with his wife, only to find her curled in a rocking chair, mumbling about writing on the wall. She is a permanent fixture in that chair throughout the book, rarely moving or speaking. It is often implied that she went crazy in order to remain ignorant of the problems that Jessup’s involvement with meth tends to stir up. It’s hard to blame her, given the current situation Ree is embroiled in. Seeing the way that the people who populate the Ozarks live was very eye-opening. In the “About the Author” section of Winter’s Bone there is a paragraph describing Daniel Woodrell’s history, including the fact that he was born and raised in the Missouri Ozarks just as Ree was. This information gives the novel an even more authentic feel since it is most likely based on Woodrell’s personal experiences enduring the hardships of living in a small community plagued with methamphetamine production and usage. He, like the main character of his novel, left school and enlisted in the marines as Ree wished to at the age of seventeen. All in all, with the tense, fast-paced plot pushing you along, this book is definitely one that will make you feel as if you are traveling along the snow-coated roads right alongside Ree. You will find yourself rooting for her and her family while reveling in Woodrell’s eloquent writing style. Pay attention as you read, however- there is so much symbolism and foreshadowing that you will probably have to read it twice!

Ree Dolly's father has gone missing and she needs to find him before the bail bondsman takes her family home. He's mixed up in some pretty nasty business - his major talent is making drugs - and nobody is saying anything because it is the way of the Ozarks to keep to your own devices. I love stories about way out of the way places in America, those hidden folds, and when they're written with the extraordinariness of Winter's Bone I'm in heaven. American fiction is a funny old thing because it's hard to say what is its defining style. Is it modern, clever writing a la Jonathan Franzen and Don DeLillo, or the solid old time landscape reflecting humanity a la Cormac McCarthy and John Steinbeck? Well it's the latter section that Woodrell falls into. His description of the Ozark mountains is stunning, and the way these cold barren places make cold, dark people is brought vividly to life. His writing thrusts you into that environment of frozen soil and freezing rivers and the story he drops on you is simple and lyrical. The way of life is seen through the eyes of the rough and ready Ree Dolly, a girl of school age who is tasked to look after his mentally ill mother and two young brothers because her father is more often than not absent. She dreams of joining the Army, getting away from her roots, but how can she when there's nobody there to run the homestead? Her character is beautifully rendered, her resilience demonstrated in a series of frightening and awful scenes where she has to deal with unfriendly locals who don't like being asked difficult questions. You really find yourself rooting for her. This book is on a par with the Franzen but in a wholly different way.

Timely despatch. Product recd as advertised

I am a aussie. Had a bit of a problem understanding the terminology of the people in the book but interesting in how the back country live, drugs and everything, will be reading more of this author I

I'd seen the movie and decided to check out the book. I'm so glad I did. It's not a pretty story by any means but it hooks you in hard. Even knowing the ending from having seen the movie, I needed details and couldn't stop reading. And the movie is a bit of a different animal of course so it's worth a read even if you've seen the movie. It's beautifully written with a poetic element that surprises you in the midst of a bleak landscape of grizzly characters and situations. At times the kickass little heroine - who you can't help adoring - escapes into that poetry - I just realized that right now. It's surely a coping method that bolsters her incredible strength. An excellent read that I am sad is over.

great read