Hannah's Reviews > Difficult Women

This. This is the reason why I started reading more short story collections. I knew there must be brilliant books that I would miss otherwise. This collection is absolutely incredible and it might very well end up being my favourite book of 2016 (and I read some really great books this year).

There is not a single bad story in this collection and some were among the best things I have ever read. The collection is aptly named "Difficult Women" - women and their experiences are at the centre of this book and while the protagonists were often indeed 'difficult' and imperfect, I still felt for every single on of them. Their sometimes flawed decisions made my heart hurt and I just wanted them to be happy (or at least happier). Many stories deal with dark themes and horrific things have happened to these women. But while many short story collections I have read recently deal with the sad things happening in the present and the bleak future ahead, Roxane Gay goes another way. Mostly, the bad stuff happened in the past and the women are dealing with it in the present; each in their own unique, sometimes self-destructive ways. And this leads to the biggest strength of this altogether brilliant collection: there is a sense of hope in these stories, of a future worth living, of strength, and of human connection.

I was torn between reading it without a break and savouring it; in the end I couldn't stop myself and read one story after the other. I will definitely have to buy a hard copy of this book and then read the stories again, slowly this time.

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I received an arc curtesy of NetGalley and Grove Atlantic in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for that!