Roxane Gay’s fiction is not like her nonfiction, but you can hear the echoes of the same voice. This novel is taut and tense but still ultimately driven by character. It is harrowing and sad, but an absolutely compelling read. Four and a half stars.

How does one survive a brutal kidnapping? Ripped from her husband and son during a visit to Haiti, Miri must answer this question. The answer is to die. To become someone other than who you once were. To become less human and more animal. To become feral. To enter an untamed state. But to survive the aftermath is another matter altogether. How do you undo what it took to help you survive so that you can once again breathe as a human being who needs and gives love? This is an excellent exploration into these questions. While Gay throws you into Miri's cage right along side her, her prose also extends a life line that we can all grab onto.