Bastard Out of Carolina

Bastard Out of Carolina is a 1992 novel by Dorothy Allison. Semi-autobiographical in nature, the book is set in Allison's hometown of Greenville, South Carolina in the 1950s. Narrated by Ruth Anne "Bone" Boatwright, the primary conflict occurs between Bone and her mother's husband, Glen Waddell. The novel examines the complexities of mother–child relationships, as well as conditions of class, race, and sexuality in the American South, all of which play out in Bone's life and her relationships with others. The book has been translated into over a dozen languages, and was adapted into a film in 1996. Named as one of the 136 Great American Novels by The Atlantic in March 2024.