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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
I love this collection of short stories! Roxanne Gay offers complex and compelling characters, especially the difficult women, who defy the stereotype of "strong female characters." They are strong but they're also in pain, vulnerable, defiant, compassionate. I also loved the mixing of genres.
I have to leave this one unrated for now.
Part of me says "1 star" because these stories were ALL so hard to read in terms of subject matter. I felt uncomfortable for every page of the book. I would never recommend this to anyone because the stories were so gritty and raw and triggering.
Another part of me says "5 stars" because, wow, only incredibly powerful writing could make me feel this much and just because I squirmed my way through, who am I to say someone else shouldn't read it?
Part of me says "1 star" because these stories were ALL so hard to read in terms of subject matter. I felt uncomfortable for every page of the book. I would never recommend this to anyone because the stories were so gritty and raw and triggering.
Another part of me says "5 stars" because, wow, only incredibly powerful writing could make me feel this much and just because I squirmed my way through, who am I to say someone else shouldn't read it?
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
The writing is good and compelling but, befitting the title, the stories are often difficult/unsettling.
The writing is well done. Each piece stands on its on. Together they portrayed the difficulties of women in the sense that we go through a lot of ish. The last two or three stories were the best to me.
This is by far my favourite of Roxane work that I have ready so far! I'm amazed how quickly you fall into each little word and how quickly I care for characters! She has a way of getting right to the point without losing the flair of a good story!
My introduction to Roxane Gay was through her novel Untamed State which my book club read and which has stayed with me since I read it. I then read her essays in Bad Feminist and began to follow her on Twitter. I saw her speak at the Free Library of Philadelphia last month when I had started, but not finished her latest offering, a collection of short stories titled Difficult Women. Given that I've read a lot of what she has published, I think it's safe to say I'm a fan.
The stories in Difficult Women run the gamut, from humorous to thought-provoking to unsettling. The thread that ties them together is the grit and "I don't give any fucks" attitudes of at least one woman in each story. Some of the stories verged on the edge of disturbing, but that lead to me to question why and included a little examination into my own ideas, experiences and beliefs. As always, Gay pushes us to think outside the box of our limited, first-person experiences.
Read the rest of my review: https://whatwouldjoannaread.wordpress.com/2017/04/20/difficult-women/
The stories in Difficult Women run the gamut, from humorous to thought-provoking to unsettling. The thread that ties them together is the grit and "I don't give any fucks" attitudes of at least one woman in each story. Some of the stories verged on the edge of disturbing, but that lead to me to question why and included a little examination into my own ideas, experiences and beliefs. As always, Gay pushes us to think outside the box of our limited, first-person experiences.
Read the rest of my review: https://whatwouldjoannaread.wordpress.com/2017/04/20/difficult-women/
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Hard book to read right now...but that might be true any time. I liked some stories better than others, of course, but my overall experience of this was that it was exhausting.