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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
Short stories are not typically my thing. This collection absolutely was. Roxanne Gay is masterful.
Free copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Free copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Incredible. Awful. Heavy. Perfect. Too much. I highly recommend.
Oof, this one was rough. Roxane Gay is a fantastic writer and she certainly knows how to go for the gut punch, whether subtle or explicit. I've seen this book advertised as "feminist stories" but I'm not sure I'd agree with that epithet. They're certainly not un-feminist, though. More like they exist because of/in spite of/in service of/alongside feminist. A better title may have been Disappointed Women, because these are women who have all, in one way or another, been disappointed with the way their life has unfolded. Some are sad, some are angry, some are traumatized, some are happy, some are content, some are somewhere in between all of that. But all of them share that same vague feeling of disappointment.
I kept trying to give this book a chance, but it simply wasn’t keeping my attention. The stories were lacking and predictable. I kept giving up, and then I’d say “no, at least finish the book,” but then I realized I shouldn’t be trying to force myself to finish a book I’m not enjoying. It just isn’t for me. Gay has a great writing style, but the content of these stories was putting me to sleep. I have much higher hopes for her other books.
I was in Bergen last week, a much bigger town than the one I live in. One of my favorite evening activities is book store browsing. Since this is the equivalent of a a greedy five year old in a candy shop, and I had vowed not to add to my 185 unread books, I thought I'd steer clear. That didn't go to well. I now have 200 unread books. Or rather 199, since I've read this one. It's the first one I picked up in the book store, based on the fact that I loved "Hunger" by the same author. This first one led to a landslide of new book buys.
Again, given that "Hunger" was non-fiction, I thought this was too. Bahahahahahaha. This is a random collection of short stories of complicated girls and women in all settings of life. Some of them real enogh, and some completely imagined. There is one short story where the sun disappears and the world falls into darkness. Up to about half the book I was quite keen and interested, and then I sort of lost steam. Wrong reading technique - stopping in the middle of short stories and not really picking up on the theme until I got the end of it. Repeat. I should have read one at a time during the second half, like I did with the first.
Anyway, interesting and unique. Definitely recommended if you like a random and somewhat odd collection fo short stories.
Again, given that "Hunger" was non-fiction, I thought this was too. Bahahahahahaha. This is a random collection of short stories of complicated girls and women in all settings of life. Some of them real enogh, and some completely imagined. There is one short story where the sun disappears and the world falls into darkness. Up to about half the book I was quite keen and interested, and then I sort of lost steam. Wrong reading technique - stopping in the middle of short stories and not really picking up on the theme until I got the end of it. Repeat. I should have read one at a time during the second half, like I did with the first.
Anyway, interesting and unique. Definitely recommended if you like a random and somewhat odd collection fo short stories.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Like most short story collections, some stories were more compelling than others. Violence by misogynistic men towards masochist women was the major theme of the book. I found it on the whole very depressing with a few touches of dark humour. Thanks to Net Galley for providing me with an advance copy in return for an honest review.
Yes, the content is grim but the writing is so poetic. To me the hope is in the stories of women who find love in spite of the "brokenness" the women feel because of their trauma. Almost seemed like Hat's own version of Alice Walker's You Can't Keep Good Woman Down.
I didn't enjoy this book of short stories as much as I wanted to. A few were really great and I wanted them to keep going but most were too dreamy and not fleshed out. She also had a tendency to use the same words or phrases again and again ("flat stomach"). Still love Roxanne Gay and will continue to read everything she writes. I hope she takes on another novel again, An Untamed State was a treasure!