Reviews with content warning for Kidnapping - An Untamed State

Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

An Untamed State by Roxane Gay

30 reviews

skorned's review

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.

Content Warnings

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

An Untamed State is a dark, disturbing and confronting read. Told in two parts, it is the story of Mirielle Duval Jameson. She is a Haitian, married to an American and living in Miami. On a trip back to Haiti to introduce her parents to her baby son, she is kidnapped and held captive for thirteen days before her father, a wealthy businessman, pays and ransom and she is eventually freed. The first half of the book is centred on her kidnapping and period in captivity, with numerous flashbacks to her previous life, especially her relationship with her husband Michael. This section is packed full of trigger warnings, particularly for physical and sexual violence. What I found interesting was the depiction of Mirielle’s mental state, and the tricks she used to try and survive, tricks that saw her try to dissociate from what she was experiencing. The second part of the book looks at what happens after she was freed. While her physical scars were horrific the mental and emotional scars were worse. Gay did an excellent job of presenting Mirielle’s pain, her visceral vulnerability as she learned to cope with her sense of security and self-worth, her very identity, having been ripped from her, and her efforts, some more constructive than others, to learn to live with unforgettable trauma.

This was a deeply uncomfortable and confronting read, unflinching but not gratuitous, one that exposes the dark underbelly of Haiti and the toll that extracts. It highlights the economic iniquities in that country, the anger and resentment evoked, and showcases one way those tensions play out. I can’t say I enjoyed reading this book - the subject matter precludes that - but I don’t regret the reading experience.

“I did not deserve the unwanted attentions of a man like you. It is often women who pay the price for what men want.”

Content Warnings

alyg's review

Go to review page

challenging dark sad 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

4.0

Content Warnings

remigves's review

Go to review page

Content Warnings

whatcassiedid's review

Go to review page

Way too graphic for me

Content Warnings

jerichoknopp's review

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

5.0

Content Warnings

scientist's review

Go to review page

emotional tense medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Oof, this book hits hard. So well written and well developed, but the subject matter is just difficult. The author does an amazing job of following the main character’s development through her kidnapping and after. Gay is more known for her essays, but she obviously has mastered the art of fiction as well. I continue my admiration for the author and will continue to read my way through her work, although because of the difficult subject matter, I’m not sure I would reread this particular book.

Content Warnings

arhenderson5's review

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

ulalu's review

Go to review page

challenging dark sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

Like all Gay, challenging, this one especially so. Just tragic honestly, incredibly hard to read, deeply disturbing. Important though. And masterful writing.

Content Warnings

donotfeedthebirds's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-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

3.5

Content Warnings

More...