Book 77 - Winter's Bone
Book 77- Winter’s Bone
Attendees:
Jami Walsh
Nick Conti
Carol Conti
Amy Marr
Bethany
Kids:
Theo Conti
Giana Conti
Caitlin Marr
Ainsley Marr
Brendan Salek
Lindsey Salek
Enjoyment:
Nick: -- liked it
Jami: -- felt it could use editing
Carol:: -- eh
Bethany: liked it
Amy: Not the most uplifting
Ree Dolly is only sixteen. How, in the first pages of Winter's Bone, does she prove herself a mature caretaker and teacher of her little brothers? Given her use of strong language, how does she reveal her tenderness toward her dependents?
N - pretty good surrogate mom
A - does the best she can with what she has. Meets their needs while preparing them for her departure
Ree's mother is medicated for her mental illness, and neighbors donate painkillers to Ree after she takes a beating. The Dolly clan makes a living by producing illegal methamphetamines, and Ree smokes marijuana when it's offered to her. How do mind-altering devices both destroy and make bearable the fabric of life in Rathlin Valley? Do you think moonshine wreaked as much havoc on rural American populations as crystal meth has?
A - way to escape
N - way to make money
How does the fearsome Uncle Teardrop reveal the potential for loyalty and humanity in some of the most hardened members of the Dolly familyWhat do you think is at the root of this clan's rigid, sometimes brutal moral code?
C - the whole idea of I can make fun of my family but, you can’t.
N - there’s a hierarchy in the family
A - reminds me of the mob
C --- it’s the white trash mob
Can you imagine better lives, in an earlier time, for people with the Dollys' background? Perhaps before the advent of chemically manufactured drugs and after the first immigration to America? Ree's mother was once a happy beauty who loved to dance, for instance, and Mamaw Bromont --- her mother --- seems to have been a steady matriarch.
J - the mother wasn’t a Dolly, she got brought down to the Dolly level
A - feeling they were always outside the law and have no ambition…what else would they do?
C - thinks they have ambition, but they lack a moral code.
J - same mentality in a lot of inner city families where they don’t want the kids to do better because what’s good enough for them should be good enough for the kid.
Ree's married friend, Gail, becomes an intimate of Ree's. How does their passing physical relationship speak to each girl's lack of unconditional love? How is Megan also a purely benign, if misguided, support for Ree?
B - they’re the only ones that unconditionally love them.
N - there’s plenty of physical intimacy between them.
Nature and the elements contribute greatly to the atmosphere of Winter's Bone, for better and for worse. How does Daniel Woodrell convey both the harshness and the beauty of the natural world? In what ways are Ree's walk in the pine woods with her ailing mother and her trip to Bucket Spring to wash her wounds enhanced by Woodrell's description of the landscape? Did you feel Ree's arduous journey to find her father more sharply because of the icy cold?
All - didn’t do much for us.
Critics have compared Ree to such classical literary figures as Antigone, Psyche, and even King Lear, and have seen reflections of the Old Testament in the Dolly family's code. How, for you, has Woodrell given his story a mythical stature that reaches beyond its particular Ozarkian hollow?
J and A : didn’t find it mythical at all
A : totally believable
B&C : agree.
The tension raised by Ree's quest for her father is at times intense for the reader.How does Woodrell temper this anxiety with both humor and tenderness? How does his use of authentic dialect bring his larger-than-life story and characters back to earth?
N: Glad the dialect didn’t get too difficult
J: found the dialect a little distracting
N : went along pretty well and made you not forget where you were.
J: don’t think he really tempered it that well
A: not a knee slapper but there were some funny moments.
Do you think Ree would have been better off pursuing her dream of joining the military than staying with her dependent family? If not, why?
J: yes, cuz it would have bettered her family.
A: yes
N: could the brothers have survived.
Upcoming Book:
November/December Book: Winter’s Bone
January’s Book: A Game of Thrones
February’s Book: Nick’s Choice
March’s Book: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Next Meeting:
February 12, 2011 at Bethany’s House
Attendees:
Jami Walsh
Nick Conti
Carol Conti
Amy Marr
Bethany
Kids:
Theo Conti
Giana Conti
Caitlin Marr
Ainsley Marr
Brendan Salek
Lindsey Salek
Enjoyment:
Nick: -- liked it
Jami: -- felt it could use editing
Carol:: -- eh
Bethany: liked it
Amy: Not the most uplifting
Ree Dolly is only sixteen. How, in the first pages of Winter's Bone, does she prove herself a mature caretaker and teacher of her little brothers? Given her use of strong language, how does she reveal her tenderness toward her dependents?
N - pretty good surrogate mom
A - does the best she can with what she has. Meets their needs while preparing them for her departure
Ree's mother is medicated for her mental illness, and neighbors donate painkillers to Ree after she takes a beating. The Dolly clan makes a living by producing illegal methamphetamines, and Ree smokes marijuana when it's offered to her. How do mind-altering devices both destroy and make bearable the fabric of life in Rathlin Valley? Do you think moonshine wreaked as much havoc on rural American populations as crystal meth has?
A - way to escape
N - way to make money
How does the fearsome Uncle Teardrop reveal the potential for loyalty and humanity in some of the most hardened members of the Dolly familyWhat do you think is at the root of this clan's rigid, sometimes brutal moral code?
C - the whole idea of I can make fun of my family but, you can’t.
N - there’s a hierarchy in the family
A - reminds me of the mob
C --- it’s the white trash mob
Can you imagine better lives, in an earlier time, for people with the Dollys' background? Perhaps before the advent of chemically manufactured drugs and after the first immigration to America? Ree's mother was once a happy beauty who loved to dance, for instance, and Mamaw Bromont --- her mother --- seems to have been a steady matriarch.
J - the mother wasn’t a Dolly, she got brought down to the Dolly level
A - feeling they were always outside the law and have no ambition…what else would they do?
C - thinks they have ambition, but they lack a moral code.
J - same mentality in a lot of inner city families where they don’t want the kids to do better because what’s good enough for them should be good enough for the kid.
Ree's married friend, Gail, becomes an intimate of Ree's. How does their passing physical relationship speak to each girl's lack of unconditional love? How is Megan also a purely benign, if misguided, support for Ree?
B - they’re the only ones that unconditionally love them.
N - there’s plenty of physical intimacy between them.
Nature and the elements contribute greatly to the atmosphere of Winter's Bone, for better and for worse. How does Daniel Woodrell convey both the harshness and the beauty of the natural world? In what ways are Ree's walk in the pine woods with her ailing mother and her trip to Bucket Spring to wash her wounds enhanced by Woodrell's description of the landscape? Did you feel Ree's arduous journey to find her father more sharply because of the icy cold?
All - didn’t do much for us.
Critics have compared Ree to such classical literary figures as Antigone, Psyche, and even King Lear, and have seen reflections of the Old Testament in the Dolly family's code. How, for you, has Woodrell given his story a mythical stature that reaches beyond its particular Ozarkian hollow?
J and A : didn’t find it mythical at all
A : totally believable
B&C : agree.
The tension raised by Ree's quest for her father is at times intense for the reader.How does Woodrell temper this anxiety with both humor and tenderness? How does his use of authentic dialect bring his larger-than-life story and characters back to earth?
N: Glad the dialect didn’t get too difficult
J: found the dialect a little distracting
N : went along pretty well and made you not forget where you were.
J: don’t think he really tempered it that well
A: not a knee slapper but there were some funny moments.
Do you think Ree would have been better off pursuing her dream of joining the military than staying with her dependent family? If not, why?
J: yes, cuz it would have bettered her family.
A: yes
N: could the brothers have survived.
Upcoming Book:
November/December Book: Winter’s Bone
January’s Book: A Game of Thrones
February’s Book: Nick’s Choice
March’s Book: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Next Meeting:
February 12, 2011 at Bethany’s House