An Untamed State in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

May 20, 2014 Claire Jefferies rated it it was ok

Shelves: haiti

This one was such a disappointment for me, and I'm a little perplexed by it. It always throws me when reviewers and critics I respect (and generally agree with) have a totally different response to a book than I do. I usually chalk it up to the "right book, wrong time" syndrome - you know, when you try to read a book and it's just not the right time for whatever reason, so you put it down, pick it back up months (or years) later, and fall in love with it. I don't think that was the case with thi This one was such a disappointment for me, and I'm a little perplexed by it. It always throws me when reviewers and critics I respect (and generally agree with) have a totally different response to a book than I do. I usually chalk it up to the "right book, wrong time" syndrome - you know, when you try to read a book and it's just not the right time for whatever reason, so you put it down, pick it back up months (or years) later, and fall in love with it. I don't think that was the case with this one.

My dislike of this book has nothing to do with the horrific topic - the story is about a woman (Mireille, or Miri) who was born to Haitian parents but raised in America. Miri's parents, who are extremely wealthy, move back to Port-au-Prince when their children are grown. Miri and her husband and their one year old son go back for a visit, and Miri is kidnapped and held hostage for 13 days by a group of men who demand one million dollars from her father in exchange for Miri's safety. Whatever you can imagine happened to Miri during that time - what actually happened is probably worse. This is a difficult book to read because of what Miri experiences during her captivity, and I would caution any trauma survivors to proceed with caution.

My problems with this book were really about two things: 1) the writing, and 2) the characters. I hadn't read anything by Roxane Gay previously, but I have heard such wonderful things about her that I went into this expecting a literary gem. Unfortunately, the writing was some of the worst I've encountered in a while. Admittedly, I can be a bit judgmental about the quality of writing in books I choose to read - I have a low tolerance for a poorly constructed narrative (I blame four years studying English in college for that). I mention this because other readers may have an easier time looking past this, but it's a barrier for me. I get stuck on the flaws and therefore have a difficult time absorbing the actual story. Perhaps if I had different expectations going into the novel, it wouldn't have bothered me so much, but Gay is also an English professor, so I expected a certain level of quality that simply wasn't there.

The second big issue I had with this novel was with the characters. Some reviewers commented on how strong they found Miri to be - I had a pretty opposite response. Miri comes across as self-absorbed, selfish, and immature throughout the novel. I can't count how many times she quite literally runs away from conflicts and fights with her husband (I want to point out that this was before the kidnapping, not after). I kept waiting to learn some back story about why Miri hadn't developed reasonable ways to deal with her feelings as an adult (i.e. childhood abuse, previous trauma, etc.), but she led a pretty storybook life until the kidnapping (Gay reminds us, over and over again, that Miri's life was a fairy tale "before", which might have also contributed to my difficulty connecting with her character). So why was she so annoying? Why did she so distrust men, even before the terrible kidnapping? Was there a reason? If so, we weren't given it as readers, and it would have helped me have more sympathy for this character who just came across as spoiled rotten.

Miri's relationship with her husband, the details of which were woven throughout the novel and shared in flashbacks during her time in captivity, was just awful. They fought, Miri ran away, they made passionate Harlequin romance love, the husband groveled and brought her bouquets. Nothing seemed real about this love, and it didn't help draw me closer to Miri and want to learn more about her or her story.

The final reason this book didn't work for me is that I needed more about the socio-political dynamics behind the kidnapping. While Gay briefly touched on the poor in Port-au-Prince, I kept waiting for more understanding about why Haiti ended up this way - and more on Miri's response to the horrors of the poor who live there. Without this information, it somehow reduced the significance of the rape and violence depicted here. ...more

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Jan 28, 2015 Joanne rated it really liked it

Shelves: ethnicfiction, caribbeanliterature

Reading this story was brutal but I couldn't decide between 4 and 5 stars. The story line is devastating and horrific. But, I couldn't put it down. Love, betrayal, survival, resilience, rage...I'm not sure which emotion was the strongest or most important. My heart is just shattered after this book. This is NOT for the faint of heart. ...more

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Jun 05, 2014 Jess rated it it was amazing

Shelves: library-reads, 2014

This book was so hard to read - but at the same time I couldn't put it down...cried through almost the entire second half as Miri bravely put herself and her family back together...the only part of this book that bothered me is that she saw the Commander again...it felt like too much. Be prepared for a tough go of it if you pick this up but I think it was worth it. ...more

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