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Jul 09, 2013danielestes rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I saw the movie version a few years back starring the talented though still-yet-unknown Jennifer Lawrence, and that appreciation eventually led me back to Daniel Woodrell's original work. Winter's Bone, the novel, works well because it primarily focuses on the inner life and desperate psychological struggle of the protagonist, Ree Dolly. The plot moves things along but is ultimately secondary to how all of it affects Ree. The same is true for the austere southern Missouri Ozark setting. I also thought that Woodrell expertly balanced the hurried tension of Ree scrambling to save her family home from a bail bond snafu and the frustrating, unhurried pace of rural life.