This collection of short stories is raw and unfiltered, at times beautifully poignant and at other times oddly bizarre. All stories about or told by women, Dangerous Women unflinchingly describes themes of love, hat, guilt, violence, sexuality, race, and motherhood in the voices of distinctly different women. They are brutally honest and serve as sharp insights into everything that makes women dangerous, challenging stereotypes and assumptions. Some were emotional to read, others so painful I could barely breathe.

The collection is a masterful accomplishment that provides insight into some of the most violent and sexual aspects of humanity as well as some of the brightest. It lauds women, even as they are broken or being broken and down on their luck. Some stories are set in a recognizable setting and others take place in futuristic worlds.

I would highly recommend this for mature audiences, although please be aware there are topics of non consensual sex and violence that are described. The stories are very well-written and beautifully engineered.

Thanks to the publishers for an ARC in exchange for a fair review!

around 5 stories in I decided to put this down and while the stories themselves are okay and roxane gay's writing is wonderful it wasn't enough to keep me reading.

Gay's collection of short stories covers several themes, especially about relationships between men and women, relationships between sisters, and the effects of the cold and the dark on relationships. There is occasionally a bit of repetition between the stories, but for the most part they are effective and moving.

I Will Follow You - 3.5 stars.
Water, All Its Weight - 3.5 stars.
The Mark of Cain - 4.5 stars.
Difficult Woman - 4 stars.
Florida - 3.5 stars.
La Negra Blanca - 4.5 stars.
Baby Arm - 2.5 stars.
North Country - 5 stars.
How - 4.25 stars.
Requiem for a Glass Heart - DNFed.
In the Event of My Father's Death - 2 stars.
Break All the Way Down - DNFed.
Bad Priest - 3.5 stars.
Open Marriage - 4 stars.
Pat - 2.5 stars.
Best Features - 2 stars.
Bone Density - 3.5 stars.
I Am a Knife - 1.5 stars.
The Sacrifice of Darkness - DNFed.
Noble Things - 2 stars.
Strange Gods - 4.25 stars.

A gutsy, bare-all short story collection, that it could have been titled "It's Hard to Be A Woman".

As it's the case with most short story collections, I enjoyed some stories more than others, but overall, this is a well-worth your time.

After reading this, I"m really keen to read other books by Gay.

Recommended.

From the Sacramento News & Review:

The feminine complex
Difficult Women

By Kel Munger
kelm@newsreview.com

This article was published on 01.26.17.

Roxane Gay (An Untamed State: A Novel and Bad Feminist: Essays) knows a thing or two about difficult women, which makes her new collection of short stories very aptly titled. In Difficult Women (Grove Press, $25), we get the scoop from the perspective of women who may not be easygoing—and they’re certainly not “ladies” in any sense of the word. Instead, we have a professor of materials engineering who finds herself not only the sole woman on faculty, but the sole African-American; she finds an unapologetic place for herself on her own terms. Then, there’s the opening tale of survival and love, “I Will Follow You,” in which two sisters, abducted and raped as children, find their way forward together. The dangers for these women are real, but they are about as far from cowering as it is possible to get.

Difficult Women is a treasure trove of stories varying in length and tone all peopled with women who are multi-layered. The scope of issues raised by Gay is staggering, but what was most surprising (to me at least) is the compassion and hopefulness with which they are addressed. For as many horrific experiences that these women have encountered, there is an equally stunning number of everyday miracles which make life blessedly bearable and even beautiful.

I had the privilege of hearing Roxane Gay speak at York College of Pennsylvania after the release of her book Bad Feminist. She was witty and empowering. I learned quite a bit that evening. When Netgalley offered her new book Difficult Women to review, I jumped on it. I am so glad I did.

Difficult Women by Roxane Gay was terrifying, wonderful, confusing, eye opening, lyrical, compelling, and damn good story telling. Difficult Women is a collection of twenty-one stories.

I Will Follow You - heartbreaking but hopeful in the incredible strength of twin girls together. It left me wondering could they survived if they were separated totally? I felt as though there was a message here that women are stronger when they have each other’s backs regardless of the difference in their circumstances.

Water, All Its Weight - contained beautiful prose but had an abrupt end which left me unsure of the meaning.

The Mark of Cain - was really creepy in a stephen king kind of way. You have to read it for yourself.

Difficult Women - contains the following sections: Loose Women, Frigid Women, Crazy Women, Mothers, Dead Girls. Each section helps view the women in a non-judgemental way. It gave me a lot to think about.

Florida - Looks at a gated community from all levels, the rich residents, the service personnel, and the maids. One of the residents is newly moved in and is set apart because she is a first wife and also not a size 4. Seeing the community from all the different perspectives is eye opening and interesting.

La Negra Blanca - this story infuriated and educated me.

North Country - is set at the Michigan Institute of Technology where Ms. Gay did do her graduate work. she talks about how being one of the few black faculty she is asked, “Are you from Detroit”. Her answer is a damning comment on the college’s culture.

The other stories are:
Baby Arm
How
Requiem for a Glass Heart
In the Event of my Father’s Death
Break All the Way Down
Bad Priest
Open Marriage
A Pat
Best Features
Bone Density
I am a Knife
The Sacrifice of Darkness
Noble Things
Strange Gods

Difficult Women is a book I will read over and over. I would like to read it with someone and be able to discuss it. I feel as though I have more to learn from it. I recommend Difficult Women to anyone who wants excellent stories as well as stories that touch your soul.

Difficult Women falls into a weird category for me. Short stories, all about difficult women. Women who have difficulties. Women who are difficult or deal with difficult men? Well, every story has a woman in it. That's not the weird part. The weird part is this: I am, overall, really liking this collection. However. Who on earth would I recommend it to? That list is fairly limited. There is a lot of mean sex, a lot of ugly stuff. I wouldn't EVER recommend this to someone whose reading preferences I did not know. I'd lump it with Tampa (a novel I loved but had trouble finding the right person to sell it to - a female teacher with a penchant for younger boys (think students)). Here are some of the stories I have totally loved: A woman struggling to find her place in a predominantly male work environment meets and falls in love with a swoonworthy guy who really just loves her. Because of some tragedy in her past, she struggles with accepting his love (North Country). In Requiem for a Glass Heart, a man falls in love with and marries a glass woman. The title story, Difficult Women, was also great - a segmented story defining a crazy woman, a loose woman, a frigid one. The Mark of Cain, another I really loved, about a woman married to an identical twin. Even the stories that made me feel like I needed a shower, that unnerved or embarrassed me, were really well written. A PhD student who works as a stripper at night deals with an appalling and completely horrible client. A female version of fight club. Two sisters who are abducted. Made my skin crawl, some of them, but that was the point. 4.5 stars.

I couldn't stop reading this collection of short stories. Some stories resonated with me more than others but every story was important. I would definitely recommend reading this if you haven't already.

I'm such a fan of Roxane Gay. She writes like no one else. This short story collection is searing, beautiful, terrifying and frankly brilliant. You should know up front that this is a very difficult collection to read - the need for trigger warnings abounds. Almost every story explores a woman's life in searing detail and unflinching honesty. The women in this collection are shown in raw and real ways that you will feel in ways that make you uncomfortable and break your heart at all the same time.

Although not an easy read emotionally, it's worth every single moment of reading time. It's a tough read and not for everyone. I think my favorite story is the first which centers around two children who were abducted and held captive during which they were sexually abused. It tells the story of how that experience affects them for the years to come. Heartbreaking and haunting. I'd say that probably does a good job of describing much of this collection.

This collection isn't for everyone ... it's one that will not work for a lot of readers. So beware if you have delicate sensibilities. This may not be for you. However, if you can tolerate the content ... it's such a worthwhile read. It's beautifully written and so complex. I highly recommend it!

I don't generally read feminist writing and I've never read anything by Roxane Gay before. However, I once heard her take part in a TV panel discussion and she was such an erudite, smart and interesting speaker that I was drawn to read this book of her short stories.
The women in her stories are not so much 'difficult' but real and tough and sometimes tender and loving. Many of them have difficult lives or difficult starts to life and have had to endure or overcome poverty, abuse and even abduction. Some of them use physical pain or rough sex to numb emotional pain and those stories can be hard to read. What they share is that they are all strong and passionate and empowered to overcome their setbacks in life. This is a powerful collection of stories. Gay's language is lean and direct but somehow conveys depth and emotion as she takes us to some dark places. This is not to say the stories are all doom and gloom; there is much humour and hope to be found and even a little speculative fiction.

Grove Press and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Difficult Women. This is my honest opinion of the book.

Difficult Women is a series of small vignettes about women in differing and troubling circumstances. They are women who have been used, abused, and sometimes spit out by the system. These women have been victimized, most of the time more than once. Each has a story to tell and they are clustered together in Difficult Women.

I had trouble seeing the point to these stories. The author explains what happened, but there is no real solution in many of the vignettes. These realistic stories show the depravity of society, but I really never felt a powerful connection to any of the characters that are depicted in Difficult Women. The novel, as a whole, is too repetitive and loses the reader's focus as a result. I was not a fan of Difficult Women and would not recommend it to other readers.

Well I don't normally go for short stories as I'm not usually a fan, and I liked but did not love Bad Feminist (that is to say, I loved some essays but some did not like all that much so overall it was an ok read but not what I had originally hoped for). Despite this, every time Roxane Gay has a new book I automatically add it to the TBR. I always hear such great things about her books and I think she has important things to say.

I actually liked this book quite a bit. It was not an easy read though, and I alternated between tearing through the stories and having to take a breather to master my emotions and the heavy feeling in my gut after reading many of them.

Absolutely worth a look.

Gay is a star, as always, this time using her power to tackle power, gender, race, and womanhood - all through the stories of difficult women and the rape, violence, and shame they're subjected to.

This was a difficult book to rate. On the one hand, there is no denying that Roxane Gay is a powerful, evocative, extremely talented writer who does not shy away from difficult, complex topics. Some of the stories in this collection are just a few paragraphs, but not one is forgettable. She writes about rich women, poor women, single women, abused women, hurt women, and strong women. Gay particularly shines when describing the bonds between women.

Nevertheless, the overall dark tone and some graphic descriptions left me unsettled. Perhaps that is the point, but at this point in my life, I don't care to immerse myself in the darkness. I respect this collection, but I didn't enjoy reading it.

Amazing, difficult book. Roxane Gay is one of the finest voice writing today.

Twenty-one short stories about flawed, complex individuals who might typically be reduced to dismissive categories. I can't say I enjoyed reading Difficult Women, but I'm glad I read it. One of the many things that Gay excelled at was creating fully-formed characters and relationships in just a few pages. I felt like I intimately knew each character, even though some of the stories were very short. We're introduced to a variety of women: jaded women, women who don't think they deserve love, women who have been hurt by those they trusted or strangers, women who want to feel pain, women who are trying to find their place, women who know exactly what they want out of life, fierce women who instinctively protect their loved ones.

It isn't light reading. These characters have been pushed to the limit and each story felt like an additional weight on my shoulders. In multiple stories a character begs another not to break their heart, only to be later disappointed. Common threads weave throughout many of the stories: child loss, adultery, abuse, rough sex, twins, the bond between women. My only complaint is that if you read it straight through, it feels like you're repeatedly reading about the same situations. I got the most out of it when I only read a single story at a time, so that I could focus more on their differences than their similarities.

One of the best parts of this collection were the moments of recognition and vindication--the feeling that someone else out there understands. There's a part in Difficult Women (Crazy Women) where a woman explains the considerations she makes when walking home late at night and her boyfriend tells her she is crazy. I had this exact same conversation in college and I remember how it made me question my own sanity. It goes to show the importance of having a diversity of voices.

I didn't feel like I fully understood every story, but I found this great quote from Gay about the creation of Water, All Its Weight: "When I wrote this story I was living in an apartment with a rotting ceiling, and I thought: “What if someone created rot just by existing?” It’s interesting that a lot of people read way more into this story. When I write, there is rarely some grand statement I am trying to make. This story was simply a story about a girl who is followed, haunted by water and its weight. Literally." (Chicago Review of Books). It made me feel more at ease when thinking about the stories that ventured into magical realism.

THE STORIES

I usually only feature my favorite short stories in these collections, but I felt the need to think through all these stories. My favorites are bolded. Many were shorter, character pieces, but I tend to like longer stories with more plot.

I Will Follow You- A haunting story about the unbreakable bond between sisters. Savvie and Carolina endured a terrible trauma together when they were children. Carolina is married now, but the sisters will always remain inseparable. A perfect opening!

Water, All Its Weight - Everywhere Bianca goes, the water follows--and then comes the rot and mold. Unable to handle the side effects of Bianca's company, everyone in her life abandons her. My favorite moment is the short time when Bianca's affliction is celebrated.

The Mark of Cain (link goes to story)- When this husband is with his mistress, he has his twin brother take his place at home. He thinks his wife doesn't know, but she does--and she prefers the brother. The cycle of violence and the burdens our family can place on us.

Difficult Women - Different categories of misunderstood women: Loose Women, Frigid Women, Crazy Woman, Mothers, Dead Girls. My favorite was Crazy Women.

Florida - A peek into the windows of a Naples, Florida community. There are racial and class divides amongst the inhabitants and employees. New resident Marcy feels out of place next to her perfect neighbors and immediately sees that they "only [exist] in relation to those around them."

La Negra Blanca - A stripper becomes the fixation of a wealthy client who feels entitled to her body. This man fetishizes black women, but was always taught to keep his distance so as not to "tarnish" the family name.

Baby Arm - A woman who knows exactly what she wants out of a relationship meets a man who gets her idiosyncracies. She conflates love and pain. She regularly attends all-girl fight club with her best friend Tate and other "girls who keep their ugly beneath the skin where it belongs, even though sometimes, it's hard to keep it all in." She loves Tate fiercely and Tate always knows exactly what she needs.

North Country - Kate is a black woman, which makes her a "double novelty" at her new university job. She's welcomed with a barrage of insensitive questions and unwanted advances. She’s not ready for love after the end of a bad relationship and the loss of a child, but she begins to see a possible future with a charming logger named Magnus.


How - After years of being taken advantage of, Hanna's family finally pushes her to her breaking point. She makes a plan to run off with her twin sister and her true love Laura. I loved the structure this story and the mini-chapters with names like How These Things Come to Pass & How Hanna Ikonen Knows It Is Time to Get the Girl and Get Out of Town.

Requiem for a Glass Heart - A couple that loves each other, but they each need more than the other can give. The stone thrower, a man of flesh and blood, steals away moments where he "does not have to see too much or love too carefully.” Likewise, the glass woman is sometimes frustrated with her husband "who sees too much and loves too carefully." Their needs overlap, but they're unable to provide those things for each other.

In the Event of My Father’s Death - A father takes his daughter to his mistress’s house on weekends. She eventually follows in father's footsteps.

Break All the Way Down - A woman “uses one hurt to cover another” by finding an abusive boyfriend after the death of her child. Her husband stands on the sidelines until he's unable to watch her self-destruct any longer.

Bad Priest - A priest who "lied so extravagantly that even though he was not a believer, he feared for his mortal soul.” He begins an affair with Rebekah, a woman who "thrived on hopeless relationships." My favorite part was the explanation of why Mickey became a priest.

Open Marriage - A woman toys with her husband after he suggests an open marriage. She knows he'll never be able to follow through.

A Pat - A woman extends kindness to a stranger, but her motivations may be more selfish than it initially appears.

Best Features - Milly is overweight and gets involved in unhealthy relationships because she thinks she has no choice. "She knows how difficult it is to change the world. She used to try to change the world, but she learned better."

Bone Density - A complicated relationship. The couple in this story both have partners outside the marriage, but they still have a strange pull towards one another.

I Am Knife - A powerful woman who uses her capability for violence to protect her loved ones. After the tragic death of her own child, she enviously watches as her twin sister's pregnant belly grows. As painful as it is, she will always be at her sister's side. “I wish I could carve the anger out of my body the way I cut everything else.”

Strange Gods - The first story and last story complement each other. A woman details her past trauma and explains to her devoted partner why she sometimes pushes him away.

My favorite two stories were the ones that felt most of out place:


The Sacrifice of Darkness- Every time miner Hiram Hightower goes underground, he comes back up less of a man. Fed up with a life filled with darkness, he causes the sun to disappear by flying an air machine into it. His family is left to deal with the consequences of his actions. A sweet love story with a hopeful end.

Noble Things - Takes place after the second secession of South and the New Civil War. Anna married Patrick, son of a celebrated general who led the Southern states into battle. She wants to move to the North where they've already sent their young son. Patrick hates what the South has become, but his obligation to his family makes it difficult for him to leave. Sacrifice and the ties that bind us. There are so many chilling lines in this one.


Difficult Women is a fascinating collection of short stories that I would love to read again eventually. There's so much to unpack that it's impossible to get it all in one go. This was my first Roxane Gay experience, but it certainly won't be my last!

Difficult Women, a collection of 21 stories, some exceedingly short and others almost a novella, is a difficult book to review.

I almost gave up at 14%, having disliked 3 of the first 4 stories. I decided to give it until 20% and, before I knew where I was, I was 30% into the book and enjoying Gay's writing. The stories I enjoyed least were mainly at the beginning and the end of the book. The ones in the middle captivated me and I began to appreciate Gay's 'no frills' writing style. A common theme running through most of these stories is the difficulty of leaving your past behind.

My favourite story of the collection is an extremely short one 'Open Marriage' in which a discussion over some expired yoghurt in the fridge suddenly takes an unexpected turn. In this, Gay's wry sense of humour shines through.

My least favourite story was the title story, 'Difficult Women'.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for providing a digital ARC of Difficult Women by Roxanne Gay for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.