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bangerz's review against another edition
5.0
At times I found the themes of these short stories difficult. Not bad, incredibly difficult to acknowledge their truth. In a way this is thematically a prequel to Not That Bad, one of my favs.
bookish_emily's review against another edition
4.0
Wow. I'm not sure what I was expecting when I picked up this book, but I was not prepared for the reality. This collection of fictional stories features women from all walks of life experiencing a wide range of human emotions and relationships. Raw and blunt, most of the stories cover topics often avoided because they make people uncomfortable - sexuality, abuse, fractured families, and others. Roxane Gay shies away from nothing, and her stories challenge traditional portrayals of women in literature. This collection is well-written, but not for the faint of heart.
lynecia's review against another edition
The women in these stories are not "Difficult" - they are traumatized, abused and dysfunctional. This collection is "difficult" to read though. I'm definitely offering a trigger warning here - beware. For those who've read her novel, you won't be that shocked in the way Gay renders trauma and abuse on her female characters. It was tough to see it happen to character after character, and honestly I was glad when it was done - it was just that tough to read at times.
The collection does have its "higher points" the stories that have a touch of magical realism in them: Requiem for a Glass Heart", "The Sacrifice of Darkness" - if you know you can't stomach the "difficult" subject matter, I'd recommend reading those.
The collection does have its "higher points" the stories that have a touch of magical realism in them: Requiem for a Glass Heart", "The Sacrifice of Darkness" - if you know you can't stomach the "difficult" subject matter, I'd recommend reading those.
joan_anne's review against another edition
4.0
*Goodreads Giveaway* I had already read this book prior to winning it in this giveaway (it had finally come up on the waitlist for me at the library so I couldn’t turn it down). While I read it then, quickly, I was sad because I wanted to spend more time with the women in each of these essays. Tremendously raw, these stories give emotional insight into the lives of women that exist in our world, and perhaps ones you know without realizing it.
issianne's review against another edition
I don't feel like I can properly review this book, since I'm not much of a reader of short story collections. While some of the stories were ridiculously poignant and hard-hitting, others are just uncomfortable and felt like they were written for the sake of doing so (which definitely doesn't mean bad). I felt so differently about each story that no rating feels correct in my book. I enjoyed the slice of life moments of many of the stories, but felt unfulfilled by the lack of conclusion in others.
vyhurz's review against another edition
3.0
I won an ARC of this book in a Goodreads giveaway. Opinions are my own.
I never rate things half stars or quarter stars, but I'm going to make an exception for this book: It's a 3.5 stars from me. The first third or half of the book I really struggled with and almost DNF'd it because I felt like I was just watching women get beat up. Then, in some stories, it seemed as though the reader was meant to sympathize with the abusers. I was getting rather frustrated. But I kept going, and eventually the stories came around to the emotion and meaning of relationships. These relationships were mostly romantic ones between men and women. I don't think there were any homosexual relationships in the book, and that does annoy me because there was story after story after story that focused on a male/female romantic relationship. Enough seemed like enough. As you can tell, I have some issues with the book. However, the writing is wonderful and moving and powerful. It pulls you in and makes you really understand what these characters are feeling. My favorite in the collection is "North Country." I also wanted to mention the fact that there are a few fantastical stories in this collection, but I think they fit because, on the whole, this collection seems to be about relationships, either good or bad ones. That's why I'm also annoyed with the title of the book. Yes, we have some "strong" women in here that may make life "difficult" for men, but that doesn't seem to be the focus here. I'm left wondering why this title was chosen, and part of me believes it's because Gay is known to be a feminist and a feminist-y title would sell well.
These are just my quick thoughts after just completing the book. I more comprehensive review will be coming on my YouTube channel (youtube.com/allisontheresa) and on my blog (allisontheresa7.wordpress.com).
I never rate things half stars or quarter stars, but I'm going to make an exception for this book: It's a 3.5 stars from me. The first third or half of the book I really struggled with and almost DNF'd it because I felt like I was just watching women get beat up. Then, in some stories, it seemed as though the reader was meant to sympathize with the abusers. I was getting rather frustrated. But I kept going, and eventually the stories came around to the emotion and meaning of relationships. These relationships were mostly romantic ones between men and women. I don't think there were any homosexual relationships in the book, and that does annoy me because there was story after story after story that focused on a male/female romantic relationship. Enough seemed like enough. As you can tell, I have some issues with the book. However, the writing is wonderful and moving and powerful. It pulls you in and makes you really understand what these characters are feeling. My favorite in the collection is "North Country." I also wanted to mention the fact that there are a few fantastical stories in this collection, but I think they fit because, on the whole, this collection seems to be about relationships, either good or bad ones. That's why I'm also annoyed with the title of the book. Yes, we have some "strong" women in here that may make life "difficult" for men, but that doesn't seem to be the focus here. I'm left wondering why this title was chosen, and part of me believes it's because Gay is known to be a feminist and a feminist-y title would sell well.
These are just my quick thoughts after just completing the book. I more comprehensive review will be coming on my YouTube channel (youtube.com/allisontheresa) and on my blog (allisontheresa7.wordpress.com).
tildahlia's review against another edition
3.0
I'm a massive fan of Dr Gay - I basically only go on Twitter to keep up with her feed. But this book didn't quite do it for me - it wasn't the confronting content (although there is plenty of that) but more that the themes felt very similar across the stories and there were some grating implausible twists in some stories. She is a fantastic writer though, and I look forward to working through her collection.
milksoup's review against another edition
dark
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
1.0
a collection of stories about women hurt and humiliated by men and women who, more often than not, want to be hurt and humiliated by men. chock-full of violent straight sex - even when the character in focus of the story is in love with another woman, you will read descriptions of her having straight sex. repetitive elements of a twin bond, the cold north, lumberjacks, hunting. the blurb on the back of the polish edition calls it feminist, i dont see anything remotely related to feminism here. reading this felt like reading torture porn - but for women.
if you want to read about women being hurt over and over by men, usually sexually and often willingly, this is a book for you. why anyone would want that thought, i cant imagine
if you want to read about women being hurt over and over by men, usually sexually and often willingly, this is a book for you. why anyone would want that thought, i cant imagine
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Self harm, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Violence, Sexual harassment, Grief, Emotional abuse, War, Vomit, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Kidnapping, Car accident, Blood, Physical abuse, Death, Rape, Misogyny, Fatphobia, Eating disorder, Domestic abuse, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, and Sexism
space_gaudet's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0