Reviews tagging 'Violence'

An Untamed State by Roxane Gay

23 reviews

fkshg8465's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Tons of triggers to be aware of first. The summary is insufficient. There is a lot of sexual violence and PTSD. I don’t consider these spoilers, but women, especially, need to know these are a big part of the story before deciding if they are going to read it.

I’ve read Roxane Gay’s before. I know from her other books the traumas she’s shared, and the whole time, it felt like she might’ve been working through some of her own trauma. It was impossible to read the book without feeling compassion and sorrow for her. It was equal parts deeply emotionally brutal to read as well as beautiful to see how Mirielle mends her way back to life. And other than Michael, Glen, and Victor, I think I hated every man in the book. In the end, I closed the book full of hope for her (both Mirielle and for the author) and grateful to Lorraine and Mona.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

taylorlanxon's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Gore, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

randomkatisms's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

spacebras's review against another edition

It's good but damn, this is a little too much torture porn, respectfully.

Getting RAPED WITH A GUN is absolutely too much.

I don't judge anyone for reading this, but Christ... And the bad guys being like militant leftists is also weird? I'm not sure, I'm just gonna drop it imho.

Seriously, all respect to Roxane Gay, but I cannot

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, and Kidnapping

chrliesangel28's review against another edition

emotional sad tense slow-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? No

4.0

This was a hard book to read. They really described what she went through during her time in captivity. It also took time in between to have her tell us about her family, meeting her husband and her child. I do recommend it but know it is rough to read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence

donutlookaway's review against another edition

could not stomach the scenes with miri and her captors.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Violence

Moderate: Cancer, Racism, and Classism

annie_reads_books's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Cancer

melissalivanos's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

4.0

The trigger warnings on this are a small novel in themselves. This book is an absolutely brutal but very well told story. Proceed with caution. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Vomit, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Eating disorder, Miscarriage, and Injury/Injury detail

emzireads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

skorned's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Awful and beautiful and gripping and so so well crafted. Roxane Gay is so talented at weaving characters and developing our understanding of the characters and what's happening. I did not expect to race through this like I did; i knew it would be a tough read, and it was, but oh was it worth it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail