I am a Naughty Milk Not Drinker

…or so it goes in our house.  I can never, without consciously trying, finish an entire glass of milk – no matter how big or small it is.  This leads to glasses with an inch of milk in them left, woebegone, on our kitchen counters and dinner trays for my husband to look disapprovingly at.  He is a big milk drinker.

And in a complete 180 degree shift of topic…

Our library is closing.  It’s kind of sad and kind of exciting.  They are preparing to move to their temporary facility, as remodeling of their original building will begin next year.  It’s supposed to have a cafe and a second story of books.  Yippee!  This does mean, however,  that for a month we will be without a library in our town to go to for all the book goodness we please.  There is the Kennewick library, well, both of them.  But since it takes over 1/2 an hour to get there as opposed to the 3 minutes it takes to get to the Richland branch, we probably will just stick it out.  In the meantime, the RPL has posted signs all over their lobby saying “PLEASE CHECK OUT AS MANY ITEMS AS YOU WANT.  PLEASE – CHECK OUT A LOT OF STUFF.” No joke.  It’s our household’s biggest library dream.  Granted, there’s a 99 book limit we never even come close to during non-moving months of the year.  But something about not being able to get at the books for a month pushed us to wander out into the snowy streets towards the library and emerge, slipping on the slick sidewalks with armloads of books and cd’s.  We have until the 14th, and I’m sure we’ll go back before then to pull out another shelf or so for our holiday reading pleasure.

Until then, here are a few of the titles you may see pop up in my “currently consuming” section between now and January 8th:

• The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
• I Was Amelia Earhart by Jane Mendelsohn
• Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein (this was in the kids’ section – have they SEEN this movie???)
• Starman Jones by Robert A. Heinlein
• The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
• Saving Fish From Drowning by Amy Tan
• Tales of the South Pacific by James A. Michener
• The Complete Novels of Dashiell Hammett
• Rabbit at Rest by John Updike
• The Fixer by Bernard Malamud
• White Teeth by Zadie Smith
• Father of the Bride by Edward Streeter

Bastard Out of Carolina

Who wrote this book and when?
Dorothy Allison. 1993

Has there been a film version?
Yes, in 1996.

Who are the important characters?
Ruth Anne “Bone” – the narrator and our protagonist, a young girl who is abused and molested by her stepfather
Anney – Bone’s mother, a woman struggling to find love and satisfaction
Papa Glen – Bone’s abusive stepfather, he has serious anger issues
Reese – Bone’s younger sister
Raylene – Bone’s strange and eccentric aunt
Alma – another of Bone’s aunts
Earle – Bone’s favorite uncle
Ruth – Bone’s aunt, dying of cancer

What’s it about?
Bone is singled out starting at birth. Her father is MIA, so she’s labeled an illegitimate child by the state, despite her mother’s attempts to get it revoked. As Bone and then her sister, Reese, grow up, they watch their mom become hardened to life as she is widowed and forced to work impossible hours to keep her family alive. When Glen enters the picture, Anney falls hard for him as he seems to take a special interest in the girls. They get married and everything goes well until Anney miscarries and is rendered unable to bear any more children. Glen begins to get abusive and explosively angry – forcing Bone to act out.

Why is this book a classic/bestseller?
It graphically tells the story of a girl who is emotionally, physically, and sexually abused by a parent and the process she goes through as she is damaged.

Do I recommend you read this book?
Ummmm, it was very good, but extremely graphic and disturbing.

How did this book make my list?
It was on the list of challenged books.

Has it won any awards?
I don’t think so.

Favorite quotes:
“Family is family, but even love can’t keep people from eating at each other.” – p 10

“It’s the way of things. One day you’re all family together, fighting and hugging from one moment to the next, and then it’s all gone. You’re off making your own family, scared of what’s coming next, and Lord, things have a way of running faster and faster all the time.” – p 89

“I wanted something – Jesus or God or orange-blossom scent or dark chocolate terror in my throat.” – p 151

“Things come apart so easily when they have been held together with lies.” – p 248

Anything else?
This is semi-autobiographical.

Personal thoughts:
I enjoyed this book, despite the content. It reminded me of a Toni Morrison book in that it dealt with tough subjects, but it didn’t pander for sympathy like I feel a lot of Morrison’s books do. It was straightforward – told in the speech of a young girl – with her adjectives, metaphors, and emotions. I was completely enamored with the Boatwright extended family. They were all so very different from each other, but their personalities stemmed naturally from their upbringing and circumstances. They were brimming with emotion and energy and turmoil – no matter what, something was always going on. And I think they are a large part of what I loved about this book, being so rough but so loving at the same time in contrast to how Glen felt he was “loving” Bone.