27. Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell

Category: 50 Books

Oh my gosh, read this book.

Sixteen-year-old Ree Dolly has grown up in the harsh poverty of the Ozarks and belongs to a large extended family. On a bitterly cold day, Ree, who takes care of her two younger brothers as well as her mother, learns that her father has skipped bail. If he fails to appear for his upcoming court date on charges of cooking crystal meth, his family will lose their house, the only security they have. Winter’s Bone is the story of Ree’s quest to bring her father back, alive or dead.

The author has described his writing as “country noir.” Noir can be a kind of nebulus definition, but in this case I like it as a description.

Woodrell is able to paint an exact picture with his words. Not a single word is wasted. Every bit of dialogue, every scene is perfect.  Even the length of the book is perfect.

The story is comepletely plausable. The character of Ree Dolly is wonderful and you root for her all the way.

This is the most perfect novel I’ve read in a while. (most perfect? i need a better way to describe that.)

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