Winter’s Bone
by Daniel Woodrell

This is one of those books I’ve been meaning to read forever. A bleak, sharp portrayal of life in the Ozarks. Reviewers keeping calling it “The South.” We Missourians know better.

Update: I finished this book in four hours, which includes the time I spent making and eating dinner. The next time I’m on a panel and someone from the audience asks who my favorite authors are, I’m listing this man. His use of language and unflinching honesty are unreal in the most literal use of the word. Where I grew up, we’d say his gift is so great he has been “touched by God.”