Reviews tagging 'Infertility'

Difficult Women by Roxane Gay

23 reviews

themodelreader's review

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Grief, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Abandonment, Body shaming, Car accident, Classism, Death, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Infertility, Sexual content, War, Physical abuse, and Racism

jackieebee3's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Miscarriage and Infertility

anniefwrites's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

I’d never read Roxane Gay’s fiction before, but it’s just as searing as her essays. Every story sucked me in in a way I haven’t quite experienced with a short story collection before, and the discomfort I felt around the women featured in the stories was surely intentional. Her language is straightforward without lacking emotion, and she tackles traumatic and painful events with a brave incisiveness. Not for the faint of heart, but worth a read.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Infertility, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and War

breadwitchery's review

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Rape

Moderate: Fatphobia, Self harm, Vomit, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content

theinfinitebookcase's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Child death, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, Infertility, and Toxic relationship

emtur007's review

I found the short stories to be very repetitive. Each story circled around similar themes. <Spoiler>most stories had a woman who was in a relationship with a man and either hated him or loved him, despite him being good or bad. Sex is always involved.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infertility, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Minor: Body shaming and Miscarriage

vampiretree's review

challenging dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Pedophilia, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Infertility, Grief, Fatphobia, Domestic abuse, Child death, Car accident, and Animal death

amressing's review

challenging dark emotional reflective tense 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infertility, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Vomit, Misogyny, and Blood

stubbornlybookish's review

challenging dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Rape, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Racism, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, Homophobia, and Infertility

chloeschapters's review

challenging dark emotional fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

Has Roxane Gay single-handedly changed my mind on short story collections??? Because d a m n.

Dark, heart-wrenching, and with no lack of trigger warnings, Difficult Women is tough to get to but worthwhile. As always, some stories will resonate more than others, but DAMN IT can Roxane Gay WRITE. I think I maybe need to re-evaluate my approach to reading/engaging with short story collections (maybe they don't all need to come together in the end??? idk).

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infertility, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, Rape, Racism, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Misogyny, and Miscarriage