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Bastard out of Carolina.
Allison, Dorothy (author).
Apr. 1992. 320p. Fine Arts, hardcover, $20 (0-525-93425-1).
REVIEW.
First published March 15, 1992 (Booklist).
Ruth Anne Boatwright starts life with the stigma of having glaring red letters declaring her “ILLEGITIMATE” on her birth certificate, but her mother, Anney, takes good care of her daughter, raising her right and as best she can in dusty Greenville County, South Carolina. Twelve years go by, and Anney has managed to put together a family, including another daughter and a husband. But all she has labored so hard to achieve blows sky-high one summer afternoon, and most of the emotional shrapnel embeds itself in Ruth Anne’s young heart. An exceptional first novel, this stunning, fluid, sad, and courageous story would be outstanding even if it were the author’s tenth. — Cynthia Ogorek
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