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A review by imanisun
An Untamed State by Roxane Gay
3.0
I had a few problems with this one but I'll start with the positives. On the whole, I thought that the story had a good plot. The character of Mirielle was throughly characterized, and seemed to represent well the feelings of a woman who is and has been trapped in an awful situation. There is not much I can critique in terms of the way Gay wrote her experience and the way the protagonist reacted to it. Only that it seemed realistic and there was no bars held. Other characters were also well expressed (although I didn't understand the point of having the older brother who was literally never in the book). Michael was one of my favorites. I also liked the complexity of the villains, and how this was intertwined with the discomfort associated with being wealthy in a nation like Haiti.
Now what I didn't like all the much, and the reason I'm giving it three stars, is the dialogue. I think one of the reviewers mentioned that it sounded quite Lifetime movie and it indeed, I would have to agree. While I could read between the lines and feel Mirielle as a character, much of the dialogue between her and every one else was almost too much to bear. And not in a good way. Some of it was cliche, hackneyed and downright corny. And while I liked the flashbacks to the past, some of her dialogue with Michael was the worst of all. I think that Gay could improve this in time, but it was disappointing because some of the large statements used over and over again in such a cliched manner were really unnecessary for the plot or story as a whole.
But overall, I think that for me this was a good introduction to Haiti as a country (yes I know I can't use a novel's dramatic points to learn about a whole country). But that's another part of the book: I learned more about the complexities of the nation and hope in the future to explore the country more through fiction and non-fiction texts.
A little torn about whether this is 4 star worthy instead...I did after all get through it mighty fast. We will see.
Now what I didn't like all the much, and the reason I'm giving it three stars, is the dialogue. I think one of the reviewers mentioned that it sounded quite Lifetime movie and it indeed, I would have to agree. While I could read between the lines and feel Mirielle as a character, much of the dialogue between her and every one else was almost too much to bear. And not in a good way. Some of it was cliche, hackneyed and downright corny. And while I liked the flashbacks to the past, some of her dialogue with Michael was the worst of all. I think that Gay could improve this in time, but it was disappointing because some of the large statements used over and over again in such a cliched manner were really unnecessary for the plot or story as a whole.
But overall, I think that for me this was a good introduction to Haiti as a country (yes I know I can't use a novel's dramatic points to learn about a whole country). But that's another part of the book: I learned more about the complexities of the nation and hope in the future to explore the country more through fiction and non-fiction texts.
A little torn about whether this is 4 star worthy instead...I did after all get through it mighty fast. We will see.