Reviews

An Untamed State by Roxane Gay

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lindy_b's review against another edition

3.0

An OK novel except for the following points:
- everything about the protagonist's husband and her relationship with him is SUPER OBNOXIOUS.

Spoiler

Among other things, it irritated me that the husband's racial fetish was never dealt with.

- there is a weird romanticization of Midwest farm life.

readingwithhippos's review against another edition

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3.0

I love Roxane Gay, and I wanted to like this book a whole lot more than I did. What I’m learning about myself, though, is there are certain topics that I just don’t want to read about, and books that deal with those topics, even if they’re by an author I really respect, probably aren’t going to be for me. When I read the publisher's blurb, I wasn't sure it was the kind of book I could handle: a woman is kidnapped and held for ransom while visiting her parents in their native Haiti. But I pushed my squeamishness aside, because hey, it’s Gay’s first novel, and it had great reviews across the board. Now, having read the book, I know I need to listen to myself better. I don’t have to force my way through difficult books out of some weird sense of duty or martyrdom. And of course, everybody's different. If you have a strong stomach when it comes to violence, you might find An Untamed State a compelling read.

jhalloran99's review against another edition

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4.0

This book was terrifying and gruesome, I don't think I could recommend it to anyone, but it was so so good that I also want everyone to read it.

laviskrg's review against another edition

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5.0

This book broke my heart. I can't even say anything about it because to me it such a bewildering, heart-wrenching animalistic 2-day madness. This book MUST be read.