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_sena_frost's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
nerdherd503's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Brilliant, but heart wrenching.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence
jennyberggren's review against another edition
5.0
In awe.
There is so much pain in this story. I've never ached while reading until this book. Absolutely beautifully written. In awe.
There is so much pain in this story. I've never ached while reading until this book. Absolutely beautifully written. In awe.
rmarcin's review
5.0
Wow. An Untamed State is the tale of an American woman of Haitian descent who is kidnapped while visiting her parents in Haiti. Mireille and her husband, Michael, along with their son, Christophe, are headed to the beach when they are surrounded by SUVs. The men in the SUVs jump out and pull Miri away and keep her captive for 13 days while demanding a ransom from her father, a successful businessman.
The story tells of Miri and Michael’s idyllic life before the kidnapping and their struggle to find their way back to some kind of normalcy after the kidnapping.
The horror Miri experiences is detailed and truly terrible. Her PTSD after the kidnapping seems very real and is so heartbreaking. Michael’s struggle to grow up and accept his wife and her trauma was interesting to read. I enjoyed reading the perspective of Michael’s parents and Miri’s sister, and how they helped Miri and Michael.
I read this book almost without stopping, it held my attention so completely.
#AnUntamedState #RoxaneGay
The story tells of Miri and Michael’s idyllic life before the kidnapping and their struggle to find their way back to some kind of normalcy after the kidnapping.
The horror Miri experiences is detailed and truly terrible. Her PTSD after the kidnapping seems very real and is so heartbreaking. Michael’s struggle to grow up and accept his wife and her trauma was interesting to read. I enjoyed reading the perspective of Michael’s parents and Miri’s sister, and how they helped Miri and Michael.
I read this book almost without stopping, it held my attention so completely.
#AnUntamedState #RoxaneGay
taylorlanxon's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Violence, Sexual content, Blood, Sexual assault, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Miscarriage, Gore, Body horror, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Torture, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Confinement, and Medical trauma
mmseitz822's review against another edition
4.0
This book is brutal. If you're looking for a light read, THIS IS NOT IT. After reading the description and some of the reviews I honestly didn't know if I should read this but I decided to anyway. This book punches you in the gut and digs a knife into your heart and makes you sick and sad and sorry. I had a hard time rating this because how can you "really like" a book in which the main character - a strong, confident, feisty woman - ends up broken down, beaten, raped, and degraded in ways most people could never even imagine? However, I thought the character and the experience were both portrayed so honestly. In a perfect world, Mireille would have run home into her husband's arms and would have been fine again eventually ... but it is not a perfect world. An Untamed State doesn't sugarcoat that for a reader and so I have to give it a lot of props. I think this book will stay with me for a while.
alliebex's review against another edition
4.0
An engaging and harrowing read. Gay’s prose is beautiful and enticing, while also managing to be painful. I would probably give it five stars, but I went into it blind without reading any kind of synopsis or even descriptions of themes, so it left me rather fucked up.