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alaiyo0685's review against another edition
5.0
I want to say this book is not for the faint of heart, but I am faint of heart and I could not stop reading between my tears. So instead, I will call it brutal and heartbreaking and haunting and chilling and somehow also inspiring.
haitianrich's review against another edition
5.0
I was not expecting the amount detail Gay goes into describing the before, during and after the trama of a kidnapping that goes beyond being held captive. Untamed rarely let's the reader escape the abuse of the main character with a timely cut to another scene. it leaves you with conflicted feelings about what you do when the place you love is a reminder of something horrible. how do you get past such horrible things or do ever get past them. this book explores all of that and won't be an easy read.
lagerlout's review against another edition
5.0
This might just be one of my favourite books of all time.
I will never forget the brutal, brutal, brutal assault on all my senses as I raced through this book. It was all I could think about, all I wanted to know.
I spent the last third weeping softly and then sobbing loudly. It's one of the hardest books I've ever read but incredibly nessecary. Roxanne Gay, my god.
I will never forget the brutal, brutal, brutal assault on all my senses as I raced through this book. It was all I could think about, all I wanted to know.
I spent the last third weeping softly and then sobbing loudly. It's one of the hardest books I've ever read but incredibly nessecary. Roxanne Gay, my god.
befriendtheshadow's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed reading this book but I was expecting/hoping for something more substantial, an insight into Haiti for example. Instead it was very much about one woman's recovery from violent trauma.
karijohnson's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
joelkarpowitz's review against another edition
4.0
An Untamed State is one of the hardest books I've read in a long time, not because it's dense or complex--in fact it's incredibly readable and straightforward--but because the subject matter is so brutal. Gay explores the crossroads between political violence, sexual violence, and family dysfunction in this story of the Americanized daughter of Haitian parents who is kidnapped and held captive until her father is willing to pay her ransom. Gay describes the violence without sparing any details, but not to sensationalize the cruelty but to not allow readers to shy away from it. Her focus is not the awful acts themselves, but the emotional and psychological toll they take and what it costs to survive such an experience. It's not pat and easy, and it's not a read I think everyone could or should read, but her unflinching examination of the type of crimes that do occur around the world on a regular basis is eye opening. Sometimes, like the main characters in this book, we have to face the worst in order to begin to understand and deal with it, and hopefully begin to do something about it.
dude_watchin_with_the_brontes's review against another edition
4.0
I love that the book didn't end with the "ordeal" ending upon her return.
mjwerts's review against another edition
3.0
An Untamed State tells the story of Mireille, a young Haitian-American wife and mother, who is kidnapped while visiting her parents in Haiti. What follows is 13 days of hell that reshape Miri and her family.
This is not an easy book to read. Miri's experience is described quite graphically, and her subsequent psychological pain is equally gut wrenching. Despite the reader's potential unease, the book and subject matter are important, as too many individuals around the world have suffered similar ordeals or live in fear of the possibility.
Do not confuse "important" for "well-done," though. The book has its strong parts, but suffers from some weaknesses as well. The "flashbacks" to Miri's romance with her husband often ring false. The purpose of the backstory is to make you fall in love with Miri and Michael as a couple so their subsequent travails after her kidnapping are more heartfelt. Instead, the reader is left wondering how these two individuals were ever happy in the first place with wildly different temperaments, world views, and goals.
In addition, every male character is treated with only one or two notes: the loving, but inept husband; the miserly, reserved father; and the sadistic kidnappers. The result is a book that is captivating at times and very uneven at others.
This is not an easy book to read. Miri's experience is described quite graphically, and her subsequent psychological pain is equally gut wrenching. Despite the reader's potential unease, the book and subject matter are important, as too many individuals around the world have suffered similar ordeals or live in fear of the possibility.
Do not confuse "important" for "well-done," though. The book has its strong parts, but suffers from some weaknesses as well. The "flashbacks" to Miri's romance with her husband often ring false. The purpose of the backstory is to make you fall in love with Miri and Michael as a couple so their subsequent travails after her kidnapping are more heartfelt. Instead, the reader is left wondering how these two individuals were ever happy in the first place with wildly different temperaments, world views, and goals.
In addition, every male character is treated with only one or two notes: the loving, but inept husband; the miserly, reserved father; and the sadistic kidnappers. The result is a book that is captivating at times and very uneven at others.
ashleyholstrom's review against another edition
5.0
Look, I know this is fiction, but if you told me that this was actually a memoir published as fiction, I would believe it. Every second of this book feels like reality. All the senses are triggered: You feel everything, hear everything, smell everything, taste everything. Miri once lived a perfect fairy tale life. And then she visited her family in Haiti and was kidnapped and held for ransom for thirteen days. Unspeakable horrors were done to her, while her wealthy father tries to negotiate the ransom. When she is finally released, bruised and cut and broken in so many ways, she has to rediscover how to be the human she was before this happened to her. This is one harrowing book, and one you won’t be able to put down.
From The Best Books We Read in August at Book Riot.
From The Best Books We Read in August at Book Riot.