This is the twentieth Anniversary Edition - with a new introduction by the author. "About as close to flawless as any reader could ask for". ("The New York Times Book Review"). Carolina in the 1950s, and Bone - christened Ruth Anna Boatwright - lives a happy life, in and out of her aunt's houses, playing with her cousins on the porch, sipping ice tea, loving her little sister Reece and her beautiful young mother. But Glen Waddell has been watching them all, wanting her mother too, and when he promises a new life for the family, her mother gratefully accepts. Soon Bone finds herself in a different, terrible world, living in fear, and an exile from everything she knows. "Bastard Out of Carolina" is a raw, poignant tale of fury, power, love and family. "For anyone who has ever felt the contempt of a self-righteous world, this book will resonate within you like a gospel choir. For anyone who hasn't, this book will be an education". (Barbara Kingsolver). Dorothy Allison was awarded the 2007 Robert Penn Warren Award for Fiction, and has been likened to Flannery O'Connor, William Faulkner and Harper Lee.