andrew61's review against another edition
5.0
This is going to be a hard book to review as the issues it dealt with are extremely disturbing and its portrayal of the victim of rape was distressing both in it's graphic description of the acts but also the harrowing impact on a woman and her family thereafter. I have given the book 5* because of my gut instinct when I put this book down which felt like I had been hit in the chest and left me gasping for breath . It was a book that at times I had to put down because I found some scenes very hard to read yet at the same time it was written with such skill that I wanted to keep turning the page.
The story is well explained in the reviews but what I liked a lot about the book was the author's analysis of relationships and how they are devastated by the effect of violence. Thus Mireille has a perfect marriage with a loving husband and child but after the incident her husband Michael initially says the right things but soon focusses his emotion upon the impact on him , difficult to read without criticising Michael but individuals are selfish and lip service is quickly exposed , Michael has a difficult road ahead which I felt was well done. I felt empathy with Michael whilst shouting at him and echoing his father's comments to him late in the story.
The relationship with Michael's mother is however brilliantly written and the bond and understanding between two women when both initially have the complicated mother in law /wife relationship yet mange through two crises in their respective lives had me in pieces.
Other relationships are well portrayed , Mireille and her sister and the complicated daughter/father scenario was heart rending.
The reviews on GR seem to alternate between 5* and 1* with the 1* reviews suggesting emotional manipulation. I understand to a degree that emotional buttons are being pressed but this book is an exposure of the horror of rape and the effect on the individual ( no matter how resilient they believe themselves to be) of what must be the worst indignity, the nature of male use of fear and physical power on women, and the dreadful impact on families of an atrocity. I do not expect anything other than to be emotionally stretched by such an account and that is what good fiction does to their reader.
I hesitate to say that this should be essential reading for men of all ages but I think the younger a man is exposed to the effect of their violence to women the better and in the form of a very readable book that pulls on your emotions that would have to be a positive experience.
This is my first Roxanne Gay book although on many podcasts I have heard and enjoy women have recommended her essays. I definitely want to read more bu her and hopefully she will write more fiction soon.
The story is well explained in the reviews but what I liked a lot about the book was the author's analysis of relationships and how they are devastated by the effect of violence. Thus Mireille has a perfect marriage with a loving husband and child but after the incident her husband Michael initially says the right things but soon focusses his emotion upon the impact on him , difficult to read without criticising Michael but individuals are selfish and lip service is quickly exposed , Michael has a difficult road ahead which I felt was well done. I felt empathy with Michael whilst shouting at him and echoing his father's comments to him late in the story.
The relationship with Michael's mother is however brilliantly written and the bond and understanding between two women when both initially have the complicated mother in law /wife relationship yet mange through two crises in their respective lives had me in pieces.
Other relationships are well portrayed , Mireille and her sister and the complicated daughter/father scenario was heart rending.
The reviews on GR seem to alternate between 5* and 1* with the 1* reviews suggesting emotional manipulation. I understand to a degree that emotional buttons are being pressed but this book is an exposure of the horror of rape and the effect on the individual ( no matter how resilient they believe themselves to be) of what must be the worst indignity, the nature of male use of fear and physical power on women, and the dreadful impact on families of an atrocity. I do not expect anything other than to be emotionally stretched by such an account and that is what good fiction does to their reader.
I hesitate to say that this should be essential reading for men of all ages but I think the younger a man is exposed to the effect of their violence to women the better and in the form of a very readable book that pulls on your emotions that would have to be a positive experience.
This is my first Roxanne Gay book although on many podcasts I have heard and enjoy women have recommended her essays. I definitely want to read more bu her and hopefully she will write more fiction soon.
kiramke's review against another edition
5.0
Damn you, Roxane Gay. Why, why would you put me so inextricably into this moment, make me live it second by second? I'm not strong enough for this. I won't sleep. I won't leave the house.
That was my dominant thought through most of the book, and it's in no way a criticism. Because I know the answer, or at least my answer.
Though the story itself is fiction, the emotional truth is real and prevalent. The writing is... I want to use a lot of superlatives but I'm going to go with "honest", and I spent each page both eager for the next and dreading what it would hold. In the end, it is worth every heartbeat. There is fear, heartache, frustration, empathy, and startling self-reflection; I don't mean in the text but in the reader.
I want to take this book and hand it to people, say "Understand." I won't, because I cherish my copy, but they can find a bookstore, surely.
Anyway there are much better reviews on here, read them too, then buy the book and read it and understand what you can, and think about the rest. I'll see you in line at the store when her next book comes out.
That was my dominant thought through most of the book, and it's in no way a criticism. Because I know the answer, or at least my answer.
Though the story itself is fiction, the emotional truth is real and prevalent. The writing is... I want to use a lot of superlatives but I'm going to go with "honest", and I spent each page both eager for the next and dreading what it would hold. In the end, it is worth every heartbeat. There is fear, heartache, frustration, empathy, and startling self-reflection; I don't mean in the text but in the reader.
I want to take this book and hand it to people, say "Understand." I won't, because I cherish my copy, but they can find a bookstore, surely.
Anyway there are much better reviews on here, read them too, then buy the book and read it and understand what you can, and think about the rest. I'll see you in line at the store when her next book comes out.
denimbaobab's review against another edition
It broke my heart. I read the second half crying or on the verge of tears. This tale has left me feeling the same way I did when I finished reading Marilyn French's "The Women's Room" as a teenager. Highly recommended.
andrea_rebekah42's review against another edition
5.0
This book is extraordinary. Roxane Gay tells a gritty, heartbreaking story that is so intense at times I had to set down the book and take a breath. Only a writer with Gay's talent could make a book about a woman's kidnapping and sexual assault this gripping and ultimately so hopeful. I'm thankful for the power of her words. This is a book I don't think I'll ever forget.
iwearglasses's review against another edition
5.0
broke my heart, this was a difficult book to stomach.
han_nah_p's review against another edition
4.0
This novel begins with the kidnapping of the daughter of a rich Haitian. From the start the reader is told that the ordeal lasts 13 days as the father refuses to pay. I was worried that this would be a novel that just focused on the trauma that she experiences, I do not want to read that story.
Thankfully, the book is split in to two sections and the second section focuses on her life after she is released. I found this part much more moving and compelling, a story I do want to read. While her recovery was not simple it showed the reality of overcoming trauma, particularly sexual trauma.
This book also considers issues of family loyalty, race, class and gender in Haiti and America.
Thankfully, the book is split in to two sections and the second section focuses on her life after she is released. I found this part much more moving and compelling, a story I do want to read. While her recovery was not simple it showed the reality of overcoming trauma, particularly sexual trauma.
This book also considers issues of family loyalty, race, class and gender in Haiti and America.
katdid's review against another edition
3.0
Probably 3.5 stars. This was kind of uneven. I thought the abuse was mostly well done, except Mirielle was kind of a weird mix of immature and spoilt but also compassionate; I kept wondering how she'd cope if people didn't come running after her every time she had a tantrum and took off. Michael was super unlikable and didn't seem to live in the real world. One thing I always think about is how people make their worst fear come true in trying to avoid it, so of course , that would definitely happen. And I'm not being sarcastic.
Spoiler
there's this bit where Mirielle is about to be sodomised (presumably) and then is "saved" from that, like after everything she'd endured, the vaginal rape and knife torture and whatnot, sodomy was the WORST thing and at least she'd been spared that. I dunno, I just found that such a weird note.Spoiler
she would run into the Commander again afterwardsericawrites's review against another edition
5.0
This book is brutal, hard to read, and harder to put down.
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Rape, and Violence
Moderate: Cancer