Winter’s Bone. Daniel Woodrell. 2006.
Crime fiction. Country noir. Southern Gothic.
A gritty 16-year-old girl must track down her missing, meth-cooking father through the dangerous Ozark backwoods or risk losing her family home and everything—little as it is—they have left.
The story is told entirely from the perspective of the teenage female protagonist. Her deep knowledge of local history and consistent use of local dialect in dialogue scenes gives the story an unquestionably authentic voice.
Every interaction with a new character begins with mapping out bloodlines and establishing that clan’s house rules, including forbidden secrets and flashpoints that are pointedly off limits for discussion.
Setting descriptions contribute further to the hill country vibe with vividly poetic language, reminiscent of Cormac McCarty’s Appalachia novels. And here too, as with the story’s dialogue, the narrative voice dips deeply into local dialect, using folk names for plants, animals, and geographical features.
Don’t come at me for saying this, but … I can’t help but think that this is the Appalachian novel McCarthy was always reaching for, but was never quite able to achieve.
Winter’s Bone is a masterpiece.
AUTHORS – I write short book reviews that focus on voice and vibe. They are useful to querying authors searching for comp titles. There are more like this on my website.