Bastard Out of Carolina & Two or Three Things I Know for Sure

by Dorothy Allison

Bastard Out Of Carolina / Two Or Three Things I Know For Sure (Two Novels in one book/ Triangle Classics), 2002, Paperback, 410 pages

Genres: Fiction, Adult Fiction

410 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Dorothy Allison was an American writer whose work confronted class struggle, poverty, sexual abuse, child abuse, feminism, lesbian identity, and family violence. A self-identified femme lesbian, she drew extensively on her own experiences, transforming painful memories into fiction, poetry, and essays. Raised in a poor family in South Carolina and Florida, Allison found refuge in education and became the first member of her family to graduate from high school. She studied anthropology at Florida Presbyterian College and later earned a master's degree in urban anthropology from the New School for Social Research. Before establishing herself as a writer, she held numerous jobs and edited the feminist magazine Amazing Grace. Her first poetry collection, The Women Who Hate Me, appeared in 1983, followed by Trash in 1988. Her acclaimed novel Bastard Out of Carolina (1992), a finalist for the National Book Award, brought her widespread recognition and was later adapted into a controversial television film. Allison also wrote Cavedweller and published further collections of poetry and short stories. She founded the Independent Spirit Award in 1998 to support writers associated with small presses and independent bookstores. Her writing was influenced by authors including Flannery O'Connor, James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Audre Lorde, and Judy Grahn. Allison was active in feminist and lesbian communities and advocated for safer sex. She and Jo Arnone cofounded the Lesbian Sex Mafia in 1981. Her honors included Lambda Literary Awards, the Robert Penn Warren Award for Fiction, the Jim Duggins Outstanding Mid-Career Novelists' Prize, and the Bill Whitehead Award for Lifetime Achievement. She was elected to the Fellowship of Southern Writers and received the Trailblazer Award from the Golden Crown Literary Society. In later years, Allison lived in California with her partner, Alix Layman, and her son, Wolf Michael. She was working on the unfinished novel She Who when Layman died in 2022. Allison died of cancer in 2024, leaving a body of work that made marginalized experiences central to American literature and queer literary culture, and became an influential literary voice.

Reviews

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a book I'm very glad that I read; it was also a fairly trying read in terms of its being unapologetic about pain, ugliness, the humanity of disgusting people, and the dark parts of good people. Allison is an excellent wordcrafter, storyteller, and a conveyor of important messages. My only issue is with the racism heavily embedded in the culture of rural South Carolina that is all over the book and truly makes it difficult to read through during those scenes wherein it appears. That aside, I'm immensely glad that I read it.

[Terry Moritz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gripping, brutal account of poor rural life that I could just not put down. Eminently memorable, harsh but beautiful tale; I read it 20 years ago and it is still seared into my mind. Not for the squeamish or sensitive, but I still highly recommend it.

[Catie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Banned book
Great story
Highly recommended.

[Louise]

Thie book upset me more then anything I've read in a long time.

[Annette Kane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Evocative, visceral and sadly not a unique story

[Starr Phoenix · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had the great fortune of spending some personal time w/ Dorothy Allison in college. She was our keynote speaker at LC's Gender Symposium and I introduced her. Thereby also garnering the honor of picking her up from the airport and having the chance to speak to her while she was trapped in my car. ;)

Which has nothing to do w/ my book review. Except that she was as impressive in person as her books are to read.

Bastard Out Of Carolina is not an easy book to read. But it is exceptionally well written and important and when it came out it touched a raw nerve in our society. The main character is a child you will take into your own heart. Her world is one that many people do not survive. And for anyone who has had hard times in life, this book will resonate w/ it's sheer determination to hold up the virtues of surviving evil and carving out your happiness in this world. Of finding yourself even when it seems all hope is lost.

Two Or Three Things I Know For Sure is non fiction essays written by Allison. It's a great companion to the fictionalized story of her childhood.

High recommmend on both.

[barry · Rating 2 out of 5]

forced to read by book club, not my favorite type of literature, way-overhyped, not such a great writer I think

[Audrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOnderful, beautiful, challenging to read sometimes for the sensitive but worth it.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This memoir was published several years after Allison's novel. It was written from an adult perspective.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of those novels that everyone should read!

[Diaman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Dorthy Allison. I wish she'd write more.

[Barbara Babs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very intense if you have been a victim of abuse

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books ever!

[Silvergirl354 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Best line:

She's mean as a snake, and twice as twisty.

[Kena · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a horribly sad book. In fact I won't recommend that anyone read this. How sad this family was. O GOD

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

Incredibly difficult subject matter, but well written.