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A review by actualresultsmayvary
Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture by Roxane Gay
challenging
dark
fast-paced
2.75
Serious Trigger Warnings for Rape and Sexual Assault
I really struggled with how to rate this book. It is not one book but a collection of essays by different people, each describing their experiences with rape or sexual assault, some graphically, others discussing the wider impact on their lives.
Like for almost all women this is an issue which impacts me personally and I found it far more triggering that any other media on this topic fiction or non-fiction that I have ever consumed.
The essays were variable in their quality and I think this is a topic which would have been helped by one narrative voice tying them all together, though they were tied together by the theme of not believing your experiences are bad enough to deserve sympathy and I think that is an incredibly relatable feeling.
On balance, I think reading this book was a negative experience for me, although I do believe it is important for people to tell their stories. I hope that some people are able to be helped by reading this book.
I really struggled with how to rate this book. It is not one book but a collection of essays by different people, each describing their experiences with rape or sexual assault, some graphically, others discussing the wider impact on their lives.
Like for almost all women this is an issue which impacts me personally and I found it far more triggering that any other media on this topic fiction or non-fiction that I have ever consumed.
The essays were variable in their quality and I think this is a topic which would have been helped by one narrative voice tying them all together, though they were tied together by the theme of not believing your experiences are bad enough to deserve sympathy and I think that is an incredibly relatable feeling.
On balance, I think reading this book was a negative experience for me, although I do believe it is important for people to tell their stories. I hope that some people are able to be helped by reading this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Incest, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence