I am a big fan of Roxanne Gay’s writing, and I really liked this one. Ayiti is a slim collection of short of stories, that appears to have been first published a few years ago. The stories are all focused on characters in Haiti or characters from Haiti, which is where Gay’s own family comes from. There are a few longer stories, and many very short snippets. There is one story in particular that I really liked that I gather formed the basis for her novel An Untamed State. It would be hard to say that this is a loving portrait of Haiti. There is plenty of brutality. But Gay is clearly determined to make sure her readers understand that Haiti is more than the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and she succeeds. Strong writing and powerful characters make this one well worth reading. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.

Yes, it's true, I will read anything Roxane Gay writes. From memoirs to short stories to TV recaps, I'm all in. Much of Gay's post-Bad Feminist work has received (well deserved) recognition, so I'm really pleased that her debut collection is being released again. These stories show great range and depth of the Haitian experience, and they flow and merge perfectly. Roxane Gay has a remarkable talent for writing the physical manifestations of human emotion in a way that makes me feel everything in my own bones. These stories and the characters in them are beautifully complex and deeply moving.

First published in 2011, Ayiti is a collection of short stories exploring the Haitian experience. A married couple seeks boat passage to America. A young woman uses a voodoo love potion on a childhood classmate. A mother takes in a foreign soldier. While another woman flees a horrific massacre. None are impressed with Americans and their huge cruise ships that frequently pull into the port. All varying stories though none really stuck with me.

I will consume almost every written word of Roxane Gay's. I cannot get enough of her strong writing and opinionated tweets. She needs to be on everyone's radar. So this collection of short stories to be re-released is a joy. Hopefully it captures new readers and gives us old fans something to read while waiting for more new literature. I personally prefer her fiction novels but Ayiti satisfied my fix for now.

Happy Early Pub Day, Roxane Gay! Ayiti will be available Tuesday, June 12.

LiteraryMarie

This fierce collection of stories and poems about the Haitian and Haitian American experience, its devastating prose, its searing commentary...wow. I regret that I waited so long to read Roxane Gay's fiction.

I got this copy from Netgalley and I am so happy I requested it.

Ayiti by Roxane Gay is an exceptional collection of short stories that speaks to Haiti. I am amazed that this is a debut novel, but then again, why? Roxane Gay is a master author so I should expect her debut to be flawless.

We don't read a lot about Haiti and Haitians, and when we do it is hardly from someone who is intimate with the country's culture and practices. I am happy Gay chose this was her first collection this is required reading- especially if you are a Caribbean national. While the collection is short, every single story is well written and packed with powerful characters.

A strong debut novel.

I was surprised to see Roxane Gay’s debut collection available on NetGalley as it was originally published in 2011. With a new cover (stunning) and a new publisher @GroveAtlantic Gay proves why she is my Literary Goddess. Her words are sharp, cutting, nuanced without always having that severed edge. Her stories are raw, personal, haunting ~ I discovered the Haiti Ms. Gay is so proud to call home in this slim volume of prose. Out June 12 💕

If you haven’t read Roxane Gay before this is the perfect place to begin. Her debut gives you a taste for her fluid language, savory descriptions and lingering writing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love Roxane Gay! One of my friends introduced me to her work a while back and since then I have been a great fan. However, I hadn’t Ayiti, her first collection of short stories that was initially published in 2011. It is going to be republished in June with a beautiful new cover, and I’m so glad I have now read it as it’s honestly an amazing read.

Ayiti is a collection of short stories that revolve around Haiti. Stories of Haitians in Haiti, Haitian immigrants in the US, Haitian Americans, Americans of Haitian descent... Gay tackles an array of topics spanning migration, love, murder, assault, loneliness, family, loss, happiness, despair, pain, and a ton of other topics. She also expertly inserts stereotypes that seem to cross minds and lips when it comes to Haiti (the mud pies story for example), and makes us understand how ridiculous they are.

I always love how vivid Gay’s prose is, how deep her phrases dig into you, sometimes a soft caress, sometimes sharp object plunging into your stomach. It’s never difficult to imagine yourself as one of her characters, even in a story that spans less than a couple of pages. There are moments in Ayiti where you will probably cringe too, because you can imagine the scene exactly and just hope that you were never ever that person (the loud American tourist for example…).

Ayiti isn’t very long, but it’s perfectly formed, each story a snippet of a life, complementing the stories around it. It’s just a wonderful piece of work, a collection of wonderful pieces of work.

Ayiti will be published on June 12, 2018 by Grove Atlantic. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy!

Surprising absolutely no-one, I loved this. I am a huge Roxane Gay fan and I love her short fiction nearly as much as her non-fiction. This collection of short stories showcasts Gay's tremendous talent and her brilliant voice. While this cannot quite reach the highs of her second collection (very few things do), I still adored this.

Gay's stories center around pain. There is no way around that. These stories are grim and dark and very depressing. But she also, always, adds some hope, some light, and does so expertly and brilliantly.

There was not a single story in this collection that I didn't like, which is very rare for me when it comes to short story collections. I do admit to finding the collection overwhelming in parts because of the grim subject matter and had to take frequent breaks after particularly grueling stories - but never for long because Roxane Gay has a very distinct, very brilliant voice and I cannot imagine a world where I won't read every single thing she produces. Her observations are sharp and her thoughts on identity and pain and family and loyalty and living are important and necessary and so very very brilliant (I cannot help but speak in superlatives; after all Roxane Gay is one of my very favourite authors).

This collection, previously published in 2011, is getting republished in June with a new cover and I'm glad I finally got the chance to pick it up.
I was familiar with Gay's style and prose and this collection just confirmed her as one of my favorite authors - again.
Some of these stories were barely a page long yet they left an incredible impact.

Favorite stories: There Is No "E" in Zombi, Which Means There Is No You or We, Sweet on the Tongue, Of Ghosts and Shadows, A Cool Dry Place, Gracias Nicaragua y lo Sentimos, The Dirt We Do Not Eat.

This collection brilliantly gives a deep look into the immigrant experience. Some of these pieces were extremely emotional and I loved every bit of the collection. I am a fan of Roxane Gay's but had never read this debut collection. I sure was missing out! I am a die-hard fan that will keep returning over and over again. She is definitely an author on my auto-buy list. And how beautiful is this new cover!?

This is my first Roxanne Gay book and I can understand why her books are so popular. Ayiti is small, but mighty. The stories, no matter how short, are so powerful. They speak of suffering and resilience, of a country of hardship and undeniable love. My favourite story was "Sweet on the Tongue", but all of them broke me in ways I didn't expect.

Gay’s An Untamed State was an absolutely wonder. Many of the stories in this collection touch on some of the issues in Haiti that were featured in that book. But, as is true is many collections, it was a bit hit or miss for me.

Now I get why people love Roxane Gay! This short story collection contains 15 texts of varying length that all deal with Haiti and its people. In the acknowledgements, the author states: "I write about Haiti and the Haitian American experience from a place of great privilege but also a place of great pride" - and this pride shows in the texts themselves. Gay's stories radiate love for the country, its culture and the Haitian people, and the emotional impact derives from the empathy the reader cannot help but feel when reading about the joy and pain the characters experience.

What struck me the most is how Gay writes about the attachment people feel to their home and the longing for a better life somewhere else (in these cases: The U.S.). How must it feel to live in a country that others declare to be defined by its poverty? In a text that was obviously written when for some time not Haiti, but Nicaragua was the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, Gay adresses Nicaraguans:

"You will hear these words until you are sick to your stomach, until you no longer recognize su tierra, until you start to believe the news stories are true, that nothing else matters, that sie no puedes comprar cosas que no necesitas, tu no existes, tu no cuentas, tu no mereces respeto."

(Currently, Haiti is again the poorest country in the Western hemisphere and has to deal with the destructive power of this label.) There are also wonderful texts about the Haitian immigrant experience, what it means to leave and how it feels to be perceived as a foreigner:

"For many years, we didn't realize our parents had accents, that their voices sounded different to unkind American ears. All we heard was home. Then the world intruded. It always does."

Full disclosure: I am generally not very knowledgeable about Haiti, but Gay gave me a sense of what this country is all about. I read the whole book in one setting and was basically glued to my kindle. So mission accomplished and thank you, Roxane Gay!

This powerful debut collection of stories illuminate Roxane Gay's brilliance in her masterful ability to weave different narratives with humour and insightful depth at every imaginable turn!

I am a huge Roxanne Gay fan and this collection did not disappoint. It has all of the sharpness and detail of her other works and has the haunting quality that makes the stories stay with you. As a reader, you experience Haiti and the immigrant experience both the good and the bad. Gay has a way with words and I found myself reading and rereading passages, savoring the writing and quotable passages.
These 15 stories all have memorable characters that develop in full in the short time you have to get to know them. You feel their joy, their pain, theirs highs and their lows. Gay does not shy away from pain but rather forces the reader to confront their assumptions and expectations head on. There is no where to hide, you've got to embrace the intensity of the feeling and process it. This book is exhausting and consuming but in a good way. I came out of it gasping for air but relishing the experience. This is what I love about Gay's writing and look for in her work.

In Ayiti, Roxane Gay uses the motif of Haiti as a viewfinder to capture several distinct portraits of the land and its people. It's an unflinching study of a little-examined, often stereotyped country, told through vignettes that explore love and loss and trauma and survival. On full display is Gay's mastery of language which flows through each narrative so serenely as to appear effortless.

A fantastic collection of essay, poems, and short stories!