River of names

“River of Names” is part of a collection of short stories in the book Trash published in 1988, written by Dorothy Allison. It is the basis for the later novel Bastard out of Carolina. In her powerful writing, Allison draws on her own harrowing childhood in 1950s Greenville, South Carolina: the stigma of growing up a bastard, the shame and pride she felt toward her family, and her association with her stepfather who beat and molested …

…It is simple and never showy which gives it a enhanced credibility. Every review that I have read has discussed the element of truthfulness in Allison’s words and that is rare. She writes with distance and displacement to convey these truths in a way that makes it real for her. Her words burn into the mind, cleansing and scarring at the same time, and when it is finished the reader has experienced the truth.