Winter's Bone: A Novel

Written by Daniel Woodrell

Narrated by Emma Galvin

Daniel Woodrell's modern classic is an unforgettable tale of desperation and courage that inspired the award-winning film starring Jennifer Lawrence.  

Ree Dolly's father has skipped bail on charges that he ran a crystal meth lab, and the Dollys will lose their house if he doesn't show up for his next court date. With two young brothers depending on her, 16-year-old Ree knows she has to bring her father back, dead or alive. Living in the harsh poverty of the Ozarks, Ree learns quickly that asking questions of the rough Dolly clan can be a fatal mistake. But, as an unsettling revelation lurks, Ree discovers unforeseen depths in herself and in a family network that protects its own at any cost.

“The lineage from Faulkner to Woodrell runs as deep and true as an Ozark stream in this book ... his most profound and haunting yet.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review​

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hachette Audio
• Release date: Jul 20, 2010
• ISBN: 9781609411657

Reviews for Winter's Bone

[jorgeousjotts · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The movie has stuck with me for years. The book has a sort of dark poetry to it.

[mugsynoir · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A tale of the Ozarks, the life of the folks there who depend upon stills and crank cookhouses to survive, and a young girl with the guts of a grizzly bear. A stark and gritty story of people struggling to stay alive in an unforgiving landscape.

[Pricarte · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

It's a very cruel, grim, and harsh story. The Spanish translation is not good. (Translated from Spanish)

[amcheri-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A beautifully written, raw tale of family and survival. I didn't expect to love this book as much as I did. The prose is gorgeous. A short book that packs a hell of a punch.

[steve02476 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great story, harsh but very human. Liked the writing,the language used, both in the dialog and the author’s descriptions. Saw the movie many years ago and liked it - not positive how much that influenced my reading of the book.

[daftboy1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book is set in the Ozarks
Main character is Ree Dolly who looks after her Mum and 2 brothers.
Her Dad has ran away and owes money and the house is going to be seized by the bank.
The Dollys are part of a big local clan.
Ree needs to find out the whereabouts of her Dad. She teams up with her Uncle Teardrop who is also a bit dodgy. She gets a proper kicking but survives.

Spoiler alert
Ree's Father is Dead, they take Ree to find his resting place, she cuts off his hands to prove he is dead.

[mstrust · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Sixteen year-old Ree's life has always been one of poverty in the Ozarks, but things have gotten worse now that her father is missing when he's expected to show up for his court date. As he'd signed the family shack and all their land against his bail bond, Ree, her barely functioning mother and her two young brothers will be homeless unless she can find her father and get him to court, or failing that, and given the type of people he hung around with, prove that he's dead.
It's the first I've read from Woodrell and captures the modern issue of drug abuse in rural, desperately poor areas.

[datrappert · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is an engrossing, highly atmospheric tale of a 16-year old Ozarks girl searching for her father--or perhaps his corpse--so she can prevent losing the house she, her two brothers, and crazy mother live in, which her father has put up for his bail bond on charges of cooking meth. It is a dark story, with one shocking scene of female-on-female violence, that is a bit murky when it delves into the family's past and some sort of feud that has separated its branches. But Ree Dolly, the protagonist, who as the story begins is dreaming of escaping by joining the Army when she is old enough, shows strength and courage beyond her years. Some of the other characters are enigmas, particularly Ree's Uncle Teardrop, but they are all memorable. Winter runs throughout the book, and you might feel you should be sitting outside in a snowbound forest, with snow dropping off branches onto your wool hunter's cap, while you read it.

[christopherswann · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

4.5 stars. Brutal and beautiful.

[stephanie_m-868484 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The actress employed to read this novel is wonderful. She effects the twang of the Ozarks area like a true native, and even sounds almost exactly like Jennifer Lawrence at times, which is no mean feat. The storyline follows the novel quite well, except in the novel it's deep in wintertime with lots of snow. There is no cave scene, which they probably cut for time's sake, and possibly for propriety. And other little things, here and there. Nothing big. Nothing to stop you from enjoying yourself in this wonderfully done, evocative time and place. Go immerse yourself. You will enjoy it, I promise.

[charrlygirl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'm not feeling like a full review today so I'll limit this to only a few comments.

*The Ozarks in which this book takes place seem to have nothing in common with the OZARK Netflix show.

*I have no doubt in my mind that life in some areas of the Ozarks is as brutal as it's depicted in this book. Poverty, drug use, tight family units, and long-held multi-generational grudges are just part of the miserable lives examined here.

*I couldn't help but feel for 16 year old Ree who just wanted to join the army and get the hell out of there. Due to her mother's mental illness and her two young siblings, her hands were tied. It's hard to escape family.

*I thought this book was savage with sharp, vivid prose-sometimes so sharp it stabbed me right in the heart.

*I enjoyed WINTER'S BONE, as much as one can enjoy a story this violent and merciless. I look forward to sampling more of Daniel Woodrell's work in the future.

*Recommended for those with the wherewithal to stomach the brutalities of this rural, mountain life. You have been warned!

[juva_3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Sixteen-year-old Ree Dolly is used to seeing little of her father. A career criminal and crank-cooker, his business often takes him far away doing things he knows better than to tell her about. With a mentally ill mother and two younger brothers to care for, Ree keeps the stove hot and food on the table as best she can. But this time when the law comes to her door, she learns that her father has skipped his bond and as a result, the family home and land will likely be taken away. It's up to Ree to track down her father and either bring him in or bring proof that he's dead or else her family will be living in the fields in the dead of the Missouri winter.

But navigating the complicated web of family ties, internal feuds, and unspoken rules will be no easy task. Ree's had a hard life which has prepared her for this endeavor, and she now has nothing to lose.

A gorgeously written novel about survival, duty, and the bonds of blood.

[birthsister · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A beautifully written book. The story is uncomplicated, but the true joy is in the characters and a writing style that reads lyrical and simple at the same time. It is stark and beautiful, I imagine like much of the Ozarks themselves in the winter.

[asxz-2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow. There's a reason I never saw the movie. I always thought I would read the book. Glad I did. This was as raw, as poetic, as brutal as anything I've read. A genuine, jaw-dropping, masterpiece. Gritty and untamed, I could feel the cold and the hunger in every sentence. Outstanding.

[she_climber · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book snuck up on me. I started off thinking, oh man, what have I gotten myself into? But then I just let go and I found myself carried away on the beautiful prose, unique characters, and vibrant scenery. Which is quite remarkable considering that most of it is describing dark, ugly, sad, and violent lives.

[msf59 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

“Fading light buttered the ridges until shadows licked them clean and they were lost to nightfall.”

“You got to be ready to die every day - then you got a chance.”

Ree Dolly, a bright and scrappy sixteen year old, living in rural poverty in the Ozarks, with a missing father, an ailing mother and two younger brothers to look after, has just taken on a heap more responsibility- saving the family home.

I first saw the film version of this novel, back in 2010, the same year the book was published. It was my introduction to a terrific young actress named Jennifer Lawrence. I have read several other books by Woodrell but always wanted to read the source material and I finally did. It is excellent. I knew he was a good writer but his prose here, absolutely sings. It is tough and lyrical and he captures the hard-scrabble Ozark life with a sharp eye and ear for detail. If you have only seen the film, please give this one your full attention.

[alanteder · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Revisiting Country Noir
Review of the Audible Audio edition narrated by Emma Galvin

"Winter's Bone" (2006) is probably now most known for its faithful 2010 movie adaptation that provided breakout roles for Jennifer Lawrence as lead character Ree Dolly and John Hawkes as the terrifying meth-head uncle Teardrop Dolly. The success of the movie provided the impetus for a 2010 audiobook recording as a tie-in edition narrated by actress Emma Galwin with a cover featuring the movie promo art. Audible offered the audiobook as an Audible Daily Deal on November 5, 2018 and for $1.95 it was an inexpensive way to revisit one of Daniel Woodrell's Ozark mountain country noir.

Galvin provides a very authentic sounding variety of character voices and Woodrell's rustic woodicisms roll off her tongue as if she was born to the Ozark region (which I assume she is not). The average "Winter's Bone" rating over time has been in 4 star territory, but I'm going to bump this up to a 5 for the narration performance alone.

[ajbraithwaite_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ooh, this was good. A really strong sense of place in the setting of the Missouri Ozarks; a powerful, driven, main character; and a completely believable rawness and bleakness in the poverty- and violence-plagued lives of the characters. Loved it.

[polilla5lynn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have had this book for a few years, received from LT for review and waiting in my TBR pile. I just couldn't get into it until today. Today I read the whole thing! And I enjoyed it.

This story is rugged, raw, real. It's about a family barely getting by in rural poverty of the Ozarks, a family involved in the drug culture for generations. It's about one particular family, a sixteen-year-old girl trying to find her father who skipped bail and disappeared, and the dangers she faces in trying to make sense of things. She's tough, devoted to caring for her ill mother and her two younger siblings and determined to get answers so she can keep her family together.

There is realistic strong language and violence in this story, scenes which makes it uncomfortable to read, and yet it was a story that, as I said, I read in one day.

[gary10_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Gritty and exciting.

[sues7 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ree lives in a world that is far removed from my reality. There is an undercurrent of violence and danger that is always present. Ree is a tough cookie, as her Uncle Teardrop tells her "Folks have noticed the sand you got, girl". There are unwritten codes that the inter-connected families abide by, evidenced with lines such as "where a man's at ain't necessarily for you to know neither". There are some mean, unsavoury characters in this story which adds to the tension. The environment is harsh and unforgiving as well, the winter weather another element to contend with.
Wonderful writing. Lines like "Little Arthur was a little-man mix of swagger and tongue, with a trailing history of deeds that vouched for his posture". I finished this story relieved that I could walk away from a place where women have few choices and men are ruthless. Where a woman needs to knows her place, can be just as violent as the men, and lives in fear. Ree is tenacious, protective of her mother and two brothers, and willing to risk her life to get to the truth. A gruelling story that is horrific at times; the characters and world building are so well written that it is a great read.

[dickmanikowski · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The movie version of this novel got a lot of critical acclaim when it came out a few years ago. I DVRed it, but when I tried to watch the damned thing it was so brutally dismal that I gave up after no more than 15 minutes.

When I saw the book included on Facebook (on a list that purported to be the best 100 books of all time), I put it on my reading list earlier this month. It turned out to be a really great novel. I wouldn't go so far as to rank it with the 100 best books of all time, but it's certainly on my list of the 100 best books of the 21st Century. And maybe it will stay on that list.

If anything, the book is ore dismal than the movie appeared to be. But it's a beautifully written book, with incredibly memorable characters.

[lukes_171461 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Daniel Woodrell’s prose in Winter’s Bone reflects his characters’ thought and speech: it’s pared down to the essentials – so laconic and economical that it almost becomes oblique. This is one of the main charms of this novel – the whittled-down telling of the raw emotion and ever-present tendency to violence of the characters; the stark natural world in winter fury and snow-bound calm; the harsh truth about backwoods mountain folk who are almost all related, and who as often as not, operate on the wrong side of the law.

The meanness and betrayal swirl around a sixteen year-old girl, Ree Dolly, whose father has run from the law again. Not only has he gone on the lam, but has signed over his home – Ree’s home, which she shares with her addled Mom and two younger brothers – as collateral for his bail. Ree must try to find and deliver him into court, but begins to suspect something much more … final has happened to him.

Because of her Dad, Ree’s family and kin are persona non grata around the Ozark woods and hollows where they live. While she herself is blameless, she is still stopped from seeking help in finding her missing miscreant Dad. The way Mr. Woodrell portrays the boundless courage she shows in the face of mortal danger, warrants your reading this book by itself. Ree is a stunning invention – pre-eminent in her neighborhood at sixteen, withstanding threats, teaching her brothers how to shoot as her quest becomes tougher, defying friend and enemy alike to achieve her goal – she’s a stunner, and I honor the author for conceiving her and executing her portrait so cleanly and convincingly.

I also honor Mr. Woodrell for adopting the language of his characters as his own for his narration. It places him and us squarely in the action. And there is action aplenty. This is not a story for the faint-hearted, what with the beating and (behind the scenes) murder and rampant meth production and the drinking and the getting high. This book deals with life-and-death issues in a way that honors the courageous and loyal, and does it in a way that fits its subject matter perfectly.

This novel really sneaked up on me. It’s grand. Check it out.

[clfisha · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Darkly compelling, beautifully written Noir

Evocatively woven, this tale of survival and disappearance in the tightly knitted community in the Orzaks, USA. The simmering tensions and tightly controlled social rules, the bleak and cold setting both entwine and kick the book’s atmosphere straight into your brain, I could feel the ice slowly settling on me as I read. At the centre of the story is Ree Dolly, shockingly brave and stubborn. She carries practically the only light in the books heart, so forcefully you cannot but empathise, a beautifully drawn character alongside a great cast, none of which descend into stereotypes. The simmering violence and love they exude exist to joust between the surface of most familial encounters with just as much menace as tenacious hope to swamp you.

It is a gripping and involving tale. One that this is a world away from my English city life yet feels so real it’s one of the reasons I devour books so eagerly. That is wrapped around a tightly, nail biting drama with your hoped for outcome muddy and dissolute. I want things thatI know cannot happen in this world, what’s the least worst outcome? Dark Noir with a shining heart is exactly the type I love and this is a highly recommended example. It’s my first Woodrell but it will not be my last.

[sschaller-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Well written in succinct yet descriptive prose. Definitely easy to root for the female lead in the story who is trying to take care of her family as best as she can.

[smg023 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I don't really know what to say about this book other than I loved it. Having seen the movie, I went in with expectations that were not only met but surpassed by miles. It's haunting, and I don't think I have to tell anyone who's read Woodrell that his writing is beautiful and lyrical.
It's a little southern gothic, but I like the term country noir best to describe this book. None of the characters are spotless innocents, or even particularly nice people. The only rule in this seedy town is keep your mouth shut. You should trust only family, and even then only as far as you can throw them. Ree Dolly is both tough as nails and heart-breakingly young. It's not a nice story, but it's a good story about poverty, family, and above all survival.

[gkyoungen · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Gritty Ozark noir. A very compelling story, well told and once you get into the flow of the dialect, hard to put down. Probably the best book I've read in a year. Will definitely try some others by this author.

[jbreedlove_6 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good book that could have been great. Awkard and confusing metaphors and the thing aboutthe fish I didn't get. Yet powerful and haunting. Almost a great book. Reading Hemingway or Steinbeck before he wrote this could have given it that edge.

[vonze-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very gripping, but sad and real, all at once. It's the unfortunate tale of a strong young woman trying to fend for her family in a world of backwoods crime and betrayal. Having read the mini-bio of the author here on goodreads, I get the feeling that a touch of it might have come from the author's own experiences. Well written, but not for the faint of heart.

[stacy_chambers-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is one of the most original novels I've read. How many novels have been written about a young girl saddled with two younger brothers and a sick mother who has to find her father before his court date because he bonded the house? I saw the movie before reading the novel, but even that didn't deter from the fact that his novel is pretty un-put-downable. And the movie captures the tone of the novel quite well. I heartily recommend both.